^vision  D S b 5 9 


Section 


-C  76 


I 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2016 


https://archive.org/details/ohiowomaninphili00cong_0 


SCOUT. 


AN  OHIO  WOMAN  IN 
THE  PHILIPPINES 


GIVING  PERSONAL  EXPERIENCES  AND 
DESCRIPTIONS  INCLUDING  INCI- 
DENTS OF  HONOLULU,  PORTS 
IN  JAPAN  AND  CHINA 


y 

MRS.  EMIL  Y BRONSON  CONGER 


PUBLISHED 
WITH  ILLUSTRATIONS 


\> 


1904 

PRESS  OF  RICHARD  H.  LEIGHTON 
AKRON,  OHIO 


TO  HIS  DEAR  MEMORY. 

To  my  beloved  husband , 

ARTHUR  LATHAM  CONGER, 
whose  love  was  — Is  my  sweetest  incentive; 
whose  approval  was — Is  my  richest  reward. 
Mizpah, 

Emily  Bronson  Conger. 


INDEX 


Out  of  the  Golden  Gate 

PAGES 

7-  14 

First  Glimpses  of  Japan 

15-  20 

From  Yokohama  to  Tokio 

21-  25 

Tokio  .... 

26-  33 

Japan  in  General 

34-  41 

In  Shanghai 

42-  49 

Hong  Kong  to  Manila 

50-  55 

Iloilo  and  Jaro 

56-  66 

The  Natives 

67-  77 

Wooings  and  Weddings 

78-  82 

My  First  Fourth  in  the  Philippines 

83-  88 

Flowers,  Fruits  and  Berries 

89-  92 

The  Markets 

93-  95 

Philippine  Agriculture 

96-100 

Minerals 

101-103 

Animals 

104-106 

Amusements  and  Street  Parades 

107-110 

Festivals  of  the  Church 

111-114 

Osteopathy 

115-122 

The  McKinley  Campaign 

123-125 

Governor  Taft  at  Jaro 

126-132 

Shipwreck 

133-138 

filipino  Domestic  Life 

139-151 

Islands  Cebu  and  Romblom 

152-154 

Literature 

155-159 

The  Gordon  Scouts 

160-162 

Trials  of  Getting  Home 

# 

163-166 

ILLUSTRATIONS 


OP.  PAGES 

Frontispiece — Scout  ..... 

Fujiyama  .......  14 

“ Morgan  City  ” as  She  was  Sinking  ...  16 

U.  S.  Troops  from  Wreck  of  “Morgan  City ” . 18 

“ Extended  Limb  of  Tree ’’  ....  19 

Great  Gate  Nikko  .....  22 

Oura  at  Nagasaki  .....  30 

Japanese  Musicians  ....  - 32 

Torii  .......  33 

Bansi  .......  37 

Native  Lady  ......  50 

Town  of  Molo  ......  59 

Presidents  of  Arevelo  .....  74 

Surrender  of  Dee  Gardo  ....  87 

Cathedrae  at  Oton  .....  88 

Interior  of  Cathedrae  .....  89 

Caribou  Pond  ......  103 

Caribou  .......  105 

JARO  AT  TIME  OF  RECEPTION  TO  GOVERNOR  TaFT  . 126 

Cemetery  Crypts  ......  138 

Facade  Church  Santa  Nina  ....  152 

Native  House,  Cost  One  Dollar  . . . 155 

Caribou  Cart  . . . . . .155 

The  Advertiser  . . . . . .159 

Collier  and  Craig  . . . . .160 

Emily  Bronson  and  Mary  IIickox  . . . 162 

Adious  .......  167 


COPYRIGHTED  1904 


OUT  OF  THE  GOLDEN  GATE. 


CHAPTER  ONE. 

ITH  the  words  ringing  out  over  the  clear 

waters  of  San  Francisco  Bay  as  the  Steamer 

Morgan  City  pulled  from  the  dock,  “Now, 

mother,  do  be  sure  and  take  the  very  next 

boat  and  come  to  me,’’  I waved  a yes  as  best 

I could,  and,  turning  to  my  friends,  said  : “I  am  going 

to  the  Philippines  ; but  do  not,  I beg  of  you,  come  to  the 

■> 

dock  to  see  me  off.’’ 

I did  not  then  realize  what  it  meant  to  start  alone.  I 
vowed  to  stay  in  my  cabin  during  the  entire  trip,  but,  as 
we  steamed  out  of  the  Golden  Gate,  there  was  an  invita- 
tion to  come  forth,  a prophesy  of  good,  a promise  to 
return,  in  the  glory  of  the  last  rays  of  the  setting  sun  as 
they  traced  upon  the  portals,  “We  shall  be  back  in 
the  morning.”  And  so  I set  out  with  something  of  cheer 
and  hope,  in  spite  of  all  the  remonstrances,  all  the  woeful 
prognostications  of  friends. 

If  I could  not  find  something  useful  to  do  for  my  boy 
and  for  other  boys,  I could  accept  the  appointment  of 
nurse  from  the  Secretary  of  War,  General  Russell  A. 

(7) 


8 


AN  OHIO  WOMAN  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 


Alger.  But,  if  it  proved  practicable,  I preferred  to  be 
under  no  obligations  to  render  service,  for  my  health  was 
poor,  my  strength  uncertain. 

The  sail  from  San  Francisco  to  Honolulu  was  almost 
without  incident ; few  of  the  two  thousand  souls  on  board 
were  ill  at  all.  They  divided  up  into  various  cliques  and 
parties,  such  as  are  usually  made  up  on  ocean  voyages. 
When  we  arrived  at  Honolulu,  I did  not  expect  to  land, 
but  I was  fortunate  in  having  friends  of  my  son’s,  Hon. 
J.  Mott  Smith,  Secretary  of  State,  and  family  meet  me, 
and  was  taken  to  his  more  than  delightful  home  and  very 
generously,  royally  entertained. 

My  impressions  were,  as  we  entered  the  bay,  that  the 
entire  population  of  Honolulu  was  in  the  water.  There 
seemed  to  be  hundreds  of  little  brown  bodies  afloat  just 
like  ducks. 

The  passengers  threw  small  coins  into  the  bay,  and 
those  aquatic,  human  bodies  would  gather  them  before 
they  could  reach  the  bottom. 

The  city  seemed  like  one  vast  tropical  garden,  with  its 
waving  palms,  gorgeous  foliage  and  flowers,  gaily  colored 
birds  and  spicy  odors,  but  mingled  with  the  floral  fra- 
grance were  other  odors  that  betokened  a foreign  popula- 
tion. 

It  was  my  first  experience  in  seeing  all  sorts  and  con- 
ditions of  people  mingling  together — Chinese,  Japanese, 
Hawaiians,  English,  Germans  and  Americans.  Then  the 
manner  of  dress  seemed  so  strange,  especially  for  the 
women  ; they  wore  a garment  they  call  halicoes  like  the 
Mother  Hubbard  that  we  so  much  deride. 


OUT  OF  THE  GOLDEN  GATE. 


9 


We  visited  the  palace  of  the  late  Queen,  Liliuokalani 

f 

(le-le-uo-ka-la-ne),  now  turned  into  a government  build- 
ing ; saw  the  old  throne  room  and  the  various  articles  that 
added  to  the  pomp  and  vanity  of  her  reign.  I heard  only 
favorable  comments  on  her  career.  All  seemed  to  think 
that  she  had  been  a wise  and  considerate  ruler. 

I noticed  many  churches  of  various  denominations, 
but  was  particularly  interested  in  my  own,  the  Protestant 
Episcopal.  The  Rt.  Rev.  H.  C.  Potter,  Bishop  of  New 
York,  and  his  secretary,  Rev.  Percy  S.  Grant,  were  pas- 
sengers on  board  our  ship,  the  Gaelic.  The  special  pur- 
pose of  the  Bishop’s  visit  to  Honolulu  was  to  effect  the 
transfer  of  the  Episcopal  churches  of  the  Sandwich  Islands 
to  the  jurisdiction  of  our  House  of  Bishops.  He  expressed 
himself  as  delighted  with  his  cordial  reception  and  with 
the  ready,  Christian -like  manner  with  which  the  Super- 
vision yielded.  The  success  of  his  delicate  mission  was 
due,  on  Bishop  Potter’s  side,  to  the  wise  and  fraternal 
presentation  of  his  cause  and  to  his  charming  wit  and 
courtesy. 

It  was  still  early  morning  when  my  friends  with  a pair 
of  fine  horses  drove  from  the  shore  level  by  winding  roads 
up  through  the  foot  hills,  ever  up  and  up  above  the  lux- 
uriant groves  of  banana  and  cocoanut,  the  view  widen- 
ing, and  the  masses  of  rich  foliage  growing  denser  below 
or  broadening  into  the  wide  sugar  plantations  that  sur- 
rounded palatial  homes.  We  returned  for  luncheon  and  I 
noted  that  not  one  house  had  a chimney,  that  every 
house  was  protected  with  mosquito  netting ; porches, 
doors,  windows,  beds,  all  carefully  veiled. 


IO 


AN  OHIO  WOMAN  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 


After  dinner  we  again  set  forth  with  a pair  of  fresh 
horses  and  drove  for  miles  along  the  coast,  visiting  some 
of  the  beautiful  places  that  we  had  already  seen  from  the 
heights.  The  beauty  of  gardens,  vines,  flowers,  grasses, 
hills,  shores,  ocean  was  bewildering.  In  the  city  itself 
are  a thousand  objects  of  interest,  of  which  not  the  least 
is  the  market. 

I had  never  seen  tropical  fish  before,  and  was  some- 
what surprised  by  the  curious  shapes  and  varied  colors  of 
the  hundreds  and  thousands  of  fish  exposed  for  sale.  I 
do  not  think  there  was  a single  color  scheme  that  was  not 
carried  out  in  that  harvest  of  the  sea.  Fruits  and  flowers 
were  there,  too,  in  heaps  and  masses  at  prices  absurdly 
low.  With  the  chatter  of  the  natives  and  the  shrill  cry 
of  the  fishermen  as  they  came  in  with  their  heavily  laden 
boats,  the  scene  was  one  never  to  be  forgotten. 

The  natives  have  a time  honored  custom  of  crowning 
their  friends  at  leave-taking  with  “Lais”  (lays).  These 
garlands  are  made  by  threading  flowers  on  a string  about 
a yard  and  a half  long,  usually  each  string  is  of  one  kind 
of  flower,  and,  as  they  throw  these  “Lais”  over  the  head 
of  the  friend  about  to  leave,  they  say  or  sing,  “Al-o-ah-o, 
until  we  meet  again.” 


OUT  OF  THE  GOLDEN  GATE 


1 1 

This  musical  score  is  the  greeting  of  good-day,  good- 
morning, or  good-bye  ; always  the  greeting  of  friends. 
They  chose  for  me  strings  of  purple  and  gold  flowers. 
The  golden  ones  were  a sort  of  wax  begonia  and  the  pur- 
ple were  almost  like  a petunia. 

Instead  of  sitting  on  the  deck  of  the  steamer  by  my- 
self, as  I had  purposed,  I had  one  of  the  most  delightful 
days  I have  ever  spent  in  my  life.  It  was  with  deep  regret, 
when  the  boat  pulled  from  the  wharf,  that  I answered 
with  the  newly  acquired  song,  “Al-o-ah-o,”  the  kindly 
voices  wafted  from  the  shore.  We  had  taken  on  board 
many  new  passengers,  and  were  now  very  closely  packed 
in,  so  much  so,  that  to  our  great  disgust  one  family,  a 
Chinaman,  his  wife,  children  and  servants,  fourteen  in 
number,  occupied  one  small  stateroom.  It  is  easy  to  be- 
lieve that  that  room  was  full  and  overflowing  into  the 
narrow  hallways.  Though  he  had  eight  or  nine  children 
and  one  or  two  wives,  he  said  he  was  going  to  China  to 
get  himself  one  more  wife,  because  the  one  that  he  had 
with  him  did  bite  the  children  so  much  and  so  badly. 

I had  never  before  seen  so  many  various  kinds  of 
Chinese  people,  and  it  was  a curious  study  each  day  to 
watch  them  at  their  various  duties  in  caring  for  one  an- 
other and  preparing  their  food.  Strange  concoctions  were 
some  of  those  meals.  They  all  ate  with  chop-sticks,  and 
I never  did  find  out  how  they  carried  to  the  mouth  the 
amount  of  food  consumed  each  day.  One  day  we  heard 
a great  commotion  down  in  their  quarters,  and,  of  course, 
all  rushed  to  see  what  was  the  matter.  We  were  passing 
the  spot  where,  years  before,  a ship  had  sunk  with  a great 


12 


AN  OHIO  WOMAN  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 


number  of  Chinese  on  board.  Our  Chinese  were  sending 
off  fire  crackers  and  burning  thousands  and  thousands  of 
small  papers  of  various  colors  and  shapes,  with  six  to  ten 
holes  in  each  paper.  Some  were  burning  incense  and 
praying  before  their  Joss.  The  interpreter  told  us  that 
every  time  a steamer  passes  they  go  through  these  rites 
to  keep  the  Devils  away  from  the  souls  of  the  shipwrecked 
Chinese.  Before  any  Evil  Spirit  can  reach  a soul  it  must 
go  through  each  one  of  the  holes  in  the  burnt  papers  that 
were  cast  overboard. 

Bishop  Potter  asked  us  one  day  if  we  thought  those 
Chinese  people  were  our  brethren.  I am  sure  it  took  some 
Christian  charity  to  decide  that  they  were.  One  of  these 
* ‘ brethren  ’ ’ was  a Salvation  Army  man,  who  was  married 
to  an  American  woman.  They  were  living  in  heathen 
quarters  between  decks  and  each  day  labored  to  teach  the 
way  of  salvation.  Many  of  these  poor  people  died  during 
the  passage  ; the  bodies  were  placed  in  boxes  to  be  carried 
to  their  native  land.  A large  per  cent,  of  the  whole 
number  seemed  to  be  going  home  to  die,  so  emaciated 
and  feeble  were  they. 

There  was  fitted  up  in  one  of  the  bunks  in  the  hold 
of  the  vessel  a Joss  house.  I did  not  dare  to  see  it,  but 
I learned  that  there  was  the  usual  pyramid  of  shelves  con- 
taining amongst  them  the  gods  of  War  and  Peace.  Before 
each  god  is  a small  vessel  of  sand  to  hold  the  Joss  sticks, 
a perfumed  taper  to  be  burned  in  honor  of  the  favorite 
deity,  and  there  is  often  added  a cup  of  tea  and  a portion 
of  rice.  There  are  no  priests  or  preachers,  but  some  man 
buys  the  privilege  of  running  the  Joss  house,  and  charges 


OUT  OF  THE  GOLDEN  GATE 


each  worshipper  a small  fee.  The  devotee  falls  on  his 
knees,  lays  his  forehead  to  the  floor,  and  invocates  the 
god  of  his  choice.  Soothsayers  are  always  in  attendance, 
and  for  a small  sum  one  may  know  his  future. 

As  between  Chinese  and  Japanese,  for  fidelity,  hon- 
esty, veracity  and  uprightness,  my  impression  is  largely 
in  favor  of  the  Chinese  as  a race.  Captain  Finch  told  me 
that  on  this  ship,  the  Gaelic,  over  which  he  had  had 
charge  for  the  past  fifteen  years,  he  had  had,  as  head 
waiter,  the  same  Chinaman  that  he  started  out  with,  and 
in  all  this  period  of  service  he  never  had  occasion  to  ques- 
tion the  integrity  of  this  most  faithful  servant,  who  in 
the  entire  time  had  not  been  absent  from  the  ship  more 
than  three  days  in  all.  On  these  rare  occasions,  this  capa- 
ble man  had  left  for  his  substitute  such  minute  instruc- 
tions on  bits  of  rice  paper,  placed  where  needed,  that  the 
work  was  carried  on  smoothly  without  need  of  super- 
vision or  other  direction.  The  same  holds  true  of  Chinese 
servants  on  our  Pacific  coast.  I was  much  pleased  with 
the  attention  they  gave  each  and  every  one  of  us  during 
the  entire  trip  ; it  was  better  service  than  any  that  I have 
ever  seen  on  Atlantic  ships.  In  the  whole  month’s  trip, 
I never  heard  one  word  of  complaint. 

Being  a good  sailor,  I can  hardly  judge  as  to  the 
“ Peacefulness  of  the  Pacific.”  Many  were  quite  ill  when 
to  me  there  was  only  a gentle  roll  of  the  steamer,  sooth- 
ing to  the  nerves,  and  the  splash  of  the  waves  only  lulled 
me  to  sleep. 

By  day  there  were  many  entertainments,  such  as  races, 
walking  matches,  quoits,  and  like  games.  Commander 


14  an  OHIO  WOMAN  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

J.  V.  Bleecker,  en  route  to  take  charge  of  the  Mercedes 
reclaimed  in  Manila  Bay,  was  a masterly  artist  in  sleight- 
of-hand  performances,  and  contributed  much  to  the  fun. 

Often  the  evenings  were  enlivened  with  concerts  and 
readings.  Col.  J.  H.  Bird,  of  New  York,  gave  memor- 
ized passages  from  Shakespeare — scenes,  acts,  and  even 
entire  plays  in  perfect  voice  and  character.  We  thought 
we  were  most  fortunate  in  the  opportunity  to  enjoy  his 
clever  rendition  of  several  comedies. 

But  to  one  passenger,  at  least,  the  best  and  sweetest 
ministrations  of  all  were  the  religious  services.  Bishop 
Potter  took  part  in  all  wholesome  amusements.  He  was 
often  the  director  ; he  was  the  delightful  chairman  at  all 
our  musical  and  literary  sessions ; but  it  was  in  sacred 
service  that  his  noble  spiritual  powers  found  expression. 
One  calm,  radiant  Sunday  morning  he  spoke  with  noblest 
eloquence  on  these  words  of  the  one  hundred  thirty-ninth 
psalm: — 

Whither  shall  I go  from  thy  spirit  ? or  whither 
shall  I flee  from  thy  presence  ? 

If  I ascend  up  into  heaven  thou  art  there  ; if  I 
make  my  bed  in  hell,  behold  thou  art  there  ! 

If  I take  the  wings  of  the  morning  and  dwell  in 
the  uttermost  part  of  the  sea  ; 

Even  there  shall  thy  hand  lead  me  and  thy  right 
hand  shall  hold  me. 

Fifteen  months  later,  when  wrecked  on  the  coast  of 
Panay,  his  clear  voice  again  sounded  in  my  soul  with  the 
assurance,  “ Even  there  shall  thy  hand  lead  me,  and  thy 
right  hand  shall  hold  me.” 


FIRST  GLIMPSES  OF  JAPAN. 


CHAPTER  TWO. 


UT  for  all  our  devices  to  while  away  the  time, 
the  thirty- two  days  of  ship  life  was  to  all  of 
us  the  longest  month  of  our  lives.  The 
Pacific,  as  Mr.  Peggotty  says,  is  “ a mort  of 
water,”  a vast,  desolate  waste  of  waters  from 
Honolulu  to  our  first  landing  place,  Yokohama.  We  had 
a wonderful  glimpse  of  the  sacred  mountain,  Fujiyama. 
The  snow-capped  peak  stood  transfigured  as  it  caught 
full  the  rays  of  the  descending  sun.  Cone-shaped,  tri- 
angular, perhaps  ; what  was  it  like,  this  gleaming  sil- 
houette against  the  deep  blue  sky  ? Was  it  a mighty  altar, 
symbol  of  earth’s  need  of  sacrifice,  or  emblem  of  the  unity 
of  the  ever  present  triune  God?  ’Tis  little  wonder  that 
it  is,  to  the  people  over  whom  it  stands  guard,  an  object 
of  reverence,  of  worship ; that  pilgrimages  are  made  to 
its  sacred  heights ; that  yearly  many  lives  are  sacrificed 
in  the  toilsome  ascent  on  bare  feet,  on  bare  knees. 

As  we  went  through  Japan’s  inland  sea,  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  bodies  of  water  on  the  globe,  it  seemed,  at 
times,  as  if  we  might  reach  out  and  shake  hands  with  the 

(15) 


i6 


AN  OHIO  WOMAN  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 


natives  in  their  curious  houses,  we  passed  so  near  to  them 
— the  odd  little  houses,  unlike  any  we  had  ever  seen  ; 
while  about  us  was  every  known  kind  of  Japanese  craft 
with  curious  sails  of  every  conceivable  kind  and  shape. 
On  the  overloaded  boats  the  curious  little  Japanese  sailors, 
oddly  dressed  in  thick  padded  coverings  and  bowl  caps 
on  their  heads,  with  nothing  on  limbs  and  feet  save  small 
straw  sandals,  strapped  to  the  feet  between  great  and 
second  toes,  looked  top-heavy. 

While  I watched  all  these  new  things,  I was  eagerly 
on  the  lookout  for  the  wreck  of  the  Morgan  City,  on 
which  my  son  had  sailed.  Nothing  was  visible  of  the 
ill-fated  ship  but  a single  spar,  one  long  finger  of  warning 
held  aloft.  As  we  passed  on,  watching  the  busy  boats 
plying  from  shore  to  shore,  the  Chinese  on  the  boat  chat- 
tered and  jabbered  faster  with  each  other  than  before ; 
we  fancied  they  were  making  fun  of  their  little  Japanese 
brethren.  We  arrived  at  Yokohama  about  9 P.  M.,  and 
were  immediately  placed  in  quarantine.  The  next  morn- 
ing a dozen  Japanese  quarantine  officers  appeared,  cov- 
ered all  over  with  straps  and  bauds  of  gold  lace.  They 
looked  so  insignificant  and  put  on  such  an  air  of  austere 
authority  that  one  did  not  know  whether  to  laugh  or  cry 
at  their  pomposity.  They  checked  us  off  by  squads  and 
dozens,  and  by  12  o’clock  we  were  ready  to  land.  It  was 
our  first  touch  of  Japanese  soil,  and  we  were  about  to 
take  our  first  ride  in  a Jinricksha.  It  was  very  beautiful 
to  hear  as  a greeting,  “ Ohio.”  As  I had  been  told  by  a 
Japanese  student,  whom  I met  in  Cambridge,  Mass.,  that 
this  is  the  national  greeting,  I was  not  unprepared  as  was 


"MORGAN  CITY''  AS  SHE  WAS  SINKING. 


FIRST  GLIMPSES  OF  JAPAN 


17 


a fellow  passenger,  who  said,  “Oh,  he  must  know  where 
you  came  from.’’  My  height  and  my  white  hair  seemed 
to  make  me  an  object  of  interest.  It  was  such  a novel 
thing  to  be  hauled  around  in  those  two-wheeled  carts, 
one  man  pulling  at  the  thills  and  another  pushing  at  the 
rear.  It  is  a fine  experience,  and  one  which  we  all  en- 
joyed. The  whole  outfit  is  hired  by  the  day  for  about  a 
dollar,  the  price  depending  upon  the  amount  of  Pigeon 
English  the  leader  can  speak.  The  first  thing  they  say 
to  you  is,  “ Me  can  speak  English.”  We  found  the  hotel 
admirably  kept. 

The  blind  Japanese  are  an  interesting  class.  They 
are  trained  at  government  cost  to  give  massage  treatment, 
and  no  others  are  allowed  to  practice.  These  blind  nurses, 
male  and  female,  go  about  the  streets  in  care  of  an  attend- 
ant, playing  a plaintive  tune  on  a little  reed  whistle  in 
offer  of  their  services.  The  treatment  is  delightful,  the 
sensation  is  wholly  new,  and  is  most  restful  and  invigor- 
ating after  a long  voyage. 

No  wonder  that  so  many  of  the  Japs  are  weak-eyed 
or  totally  blind.  The  children  are  exposed  to  the  intense 
rays  of  the  sun,  as,  suspended  011  their  mothers’  backs, 
they  dangle  in  their  straps  with  their  little  heads  wab- 
bling helplessly.  From  friends  who  have  kept  house 
many  years,  I learned  that  the  service  rendered  by  the 
Japanese  is,  as  a whole,  unsatisfactory.  Their  cooking 
is  entirely  different  from  ours,  and  they  do  not  willingly 
adapt  themselves  to  our  mode  of  living. 

It  is  not  my  purpose  to  tell  much  about  Japan  and 
China  ; they  were  only  stages  on  the  way  to  the  Philip- 


i8 


AN  OHIO  WOMAN  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 


pines ; and  yet  they  were  a preparation  for  the  new, 
strange  life  there.  But  such  is  the  charm  of  Japan  that 
one’s  memories  cling  to  its  holiday  scenes  and  life. 

The  Japanese  are  really  wise  in  beginning  their  New 
Year  in  spring.  The  first  of  April,  cherry  blossom  day, 
is  made  the  great  day  of  all  the  year.  There  are  millions 
of  cherry  blossoms  on  trees  larger  than  many  of  our  larg- 
est apple  trees — wonderful  double-flowering,  beautiful 
trees,  just  one  mass  of  pink  blossoms  as  far  as  the  eye 
can  reach.  They  do  so  reverence  these  blossoms  that  they 
rarely  pluck  them,  but  carry  about  bunches  made  of  paper 
or  silk  tissue  that  rival  the  natural  ones  in  perfection. 
No  person  is  so  poor  that  he  cannot,  on  this  great  festal 
day,  have  his  house,  shop,  place  of  amusement  or,  at 
least,  umbrella  bedecked  with  these  delicate  blossoms. 
It  is  almost  beyond  belief  the  extent  to  which  they  carry 
this  festal  day,  given  up  entirely  to  greetings  and  parades. 

Then  the  wonderful  wistaria  ! In  its  blossoming  time 
the  flower  clusters  hang  from  long  sprays  like  rich  fringe. 
From  the  hill-tops  the  view  down  on  the  tiny  cottages, 
wreathed  with  the  luxuriant  vines,  is  most  beautiful.  A 
single  cluster  is  often  three  feet  long.  They  make  cups, 
bowls  and  plates  from  the  trunk  of  the  vine. 

There  are  marsh  fields  of  the  white  lotus.  The  ridges 
of  the  heavily  thatched  roofs  are  set  with  iris  plants  and 
their  many  hued  blossoms  make  a garden  in  the  air. 

One  should  visit  Japan  from  April  to  November.  In 
the  cultivation  of  the  chrysanthemum  they  lay  more  stress 
on  the  small  varieties  than  we  do  ; they  prefer  number  to 
size.  The  autumn  foliage  is  beautiful  beyond  belief, — 


U.  S.  TROOPS  FROM  WRECK  OF  “MORGAN  CITY.' 


ON  LEFT  OF  PICTURE  IS  SEEN  A TREE  WITH  ITS  EXTENDED  LIMB. 


FIRST  GLIMPSES  OF  JAPAN 


19 


vision  alone  can  do  it  justice.  The  hillsides,  the  moun- 
tain slopes  are  thickly  set  with  the  miniature  maples  and 
evergreens ; the  clear,  brilliant  hues  of  the  one,  height- 
ened by  contrast  with  the  dark  green  of  the  other,  are 
strikingly  vivid. 

The  trees  and  shrubs  are  surely  more  gnarled  and 
knotted  than  they  are  in  Christian  countries.  They  are 
trained  in  curious  fashion.  One  limb  of  a tree  is  coaxed 
and  stretched  to  see  how  far  it  can  be  extended  from  the 
body  of  the  tree.  At  first  I could  not  believe  that  these 
limbs  belonged  to  a stump  so  far  away.  The  Japanese 
pride  themselves  on  their  shrubs  and  flowers.  Nothing 
gave  me  more  pleasure  than  seeing  all  this  cultivation 
of  the  gardens,  no  matter  how  small,  around  each  home. 
I did  not  see  a single  bit  of  wood  in  Japan  like  anything 
that  we  have.  The  veining,  color,  texture  and  adaptive- 
ness to  polish  suggest  marble  of  every  variety. 

At  Yokohama  I engaged  a guide,  Takenouclii.  I 
found  him  to  be  a faithful  attendant  ; his  devotion  and 
energy  in  satisfying  my  various  requests  was  unwearied  ; 
I shall  ever  feel  grateful  to  him.  He  would  make  me 
understand  by  little  nods,  winks,  and  sly  pushes  that  I 
was  not  to  purchase,  and  he  would  afterwards  say:  “ I 

will  go  back  and  get  the  articles  for  you  for  just  one-half 
the  price  the  shop-keeper  told  you.’*  They  hope  to  sell 
to  Americans  for  a better  price  than  they  ever  get  from 
each  other.  We  went  to  every  kind  of  shop ; they  are 
amusingly  different  from  ours.  Few  things  are  displayed 
in  the  windows  or  on  the  shelves,  but  they  are  done  up 
in  fine  parcels  and  tucked  away  out  of  sight.  It  is  the 


20 


AN  OHIO  WOMAN  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 


rule  to  take  two  or  three  days  to  sit  at  various  counters 
before  you  attempt  to  purchase.  The  seller  would  much 
rather  keep  his  best  things ; he  tries  in  every  way  to  in- 
duce you  to  take  the  cheaper  ones,  or  ones  of  inferior 
quality.  My  guide  was  in  every  way  capable  and  efficient 
in  the  selection  of  fine  embroideries,  porcelain,  bronzes, 
and  pictures. 


FROM  YOKOHAMA  TO  TOKIO. 


CHAPTER  THREE. 


ROM  Yokohama  to  Tokio,  a two  hours’  ride 
on  the  steam  cars,  one  is  constantly  gazing 
at  the  wonderful  country  and  its  perfect 
cultivation.  There  are  no  vast  prairies  of 
wheat  or  corn,  but  the  land  is  divided  into 
little  patches,  and  each  patch  is  so  lovingly  tended  that  it 
looks  not  like  a farm  but  like  a garden  ; while  each  gar- 
den is  laid  out  with  as  much  care  as  if  it  were  some  part 
of  Central  Park,  thick  with  little  lakes,  artistic  bridges 
and  little  waterfalls  with  little  mills,  all  too  diminutive, 
seemingly,  to  be  of  any  use,  and  yet  all  occupied  and  all 
busy  turning  out  their  various  wares. 

I understand  they  even  hoe  the  drilled-in  wheat.  The 
rice,  the  staple  of  the  country,  is  so  cared  for  and  tended 
that  it  sells  for  much  more  than  other  rice.  Imported 
rice  is  the  common  food. 

As  our  guide  said,  we  must  go  to  the  “Proud  of 
Japan,”  Nikko,  to  see  the  most  wonderful  temples  of  their 
kind  in  all  the  world.  We  took  the  cars  at  Yokohama 
for  Nikko.  It  was  an  all  day  trip  with  five  changes  of 

(21) 


22 


AN  OHIO  WOMAN  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 


cars,  but  every  step  of  the  way  was  through  one  vast 
curious  workshop  of  both  divine  and  human  hands.  The 
railway  fare  is  only  two  cents  a mile,  first  class,  and  half 
that,  second  class ; we  left  the  choice  to  our  guide.  A 
good  guide  is  almost  indispensible.  Our  faithful  Taken- 
ouchi  was  proficient  in  everything ; he  was  valet,  courier, 
guide,  instructor,  purchasing  agent,  and  maid.  I never 
knew  a person  so  efficient  in  every  way;  he  could  be  at- 
tentively absent ; he  never  intruded  himself  upon  us  in 
any  way.  It  is  impossible  to  describe  the  wonderful  tem- 
ples ! They  must  be  seen  to  be  appreciated  and,  even 
then,  one  must  needs  have  a microscope,  so  minute  are 
the  carvings  in  ivory,  bronze,  and  porcelain,  inlaid  and 
wrought  with  gold  and  silver ; many  of  them,  ancient 
though  they  are,  are  still  marvels  of  delicate  lines  of  the 
patient  labor  of  the  past  centuries.  One  of  the  gods, 
which  was  in  a darkened  temple,  had  a hundred  heads, 
and  the  only  way  one  could  see  it  was  by  a little  lantern 
hung  on  the  end  of  a string  and  pulled  up  slowly.  But 
even  in  that  dim  light  we  stood  awestruck  before  that 
miracle  wrought  in  stone.  No  one  is  allowed  to  walk  near 
this  god  with  shoes  upon  his  feet.  Unbelievers  though 
we  were,  we  were  awed  by  the  colossal  grandeur  of  this 
great  idol.  The  God  of  Wind,  the  God  of  War,  the  God 
of  Peace,  “the  hundred  Gods’’  all  in  line,  were,  when 
counted  one  way,  one  hundred,  but  in  the  reverse  order 
only  ninety-nine.  To  pray  to  the  One  Hundred,  it  is 
necessary  only  to  buy  a few  characters  of  Japanese  writ- 
ings and  paste  them  upon  any  one  of  the  gods,  trusting 
your  cause  to  him  and  the  Nikko. 


FROM  YOKOHAMA  TO  TOKIO 


23 


The  bells,  the  first  tones  of  which  came  down  through 
that  magnificent  forest  of  huge  trees  and  echoing  from 
the  rocks  of  that  wonderful  ravine,  will  ever  sound  in  my 
ears  as  an  instant  call  to  a reverential  mood.  The  solemn 
music  was  unlike  any  tone  I had  ever  heard  before ; now 
it  seemed  the  peal  of  the  trumpet  of  the  Last  Day,  now  a 
call  to  some  festival  of  angels  and  arch-angels.  As  the 
first  thrills  of  emotion  passed,  it  seemed  a benediction  of 
peace  and  rest ; the  evening’s  Gloria  to  the  day’s  Jubilate, 
for  it  was  the  sunset  hour. 

The  next  morning  we  took  our  guide  and  three  natives 
to  each  foreigner  to  assist  in  getting  us  up  the  Nikko  moun- 
tain. It  took  from  7 o’clock  in  the  morning  until  2 in 
the  afternoon  to  reach  the  summit.  Every  mountain  peak 
was  covered  with  red,  white,  and  pink  azaleas.  Our  path- 
way was  over  a carpet  of  the  petals  of  these  exquisite 
blooms.  We  used  every  glowing  adjective  that  we  could 
command  at  every  turn  of  these  delightful  hills,  and  at 
last  joined  in  hymns  of  praise.  Each  alluring  summit,  as 
soon  as  reached,  dwindled  to  a speck  in  comparison  with 
the  grandeur  that  was  still  further  awaiting  us.  We 
stopped  often  to  let  the  men  rest,  who  had  to  work  so 
hard  pulling  our  little  carts  up  these  steep  ascents. 

There  is  a great  waterfall  in  the  hills,  some  two  hun- 
dred fifty  feet  high,  but  none  of  us  dared  to  make  the  point 
that  gives  an  entire  view  of  it.  All  we  could  see  added  proof 
of  our  paucity  of  words  to  express  our  surprise  that  the 
reputed  great  wonders  of  this  “ Proud”  were  really  true. 
On  returning  we  were  often  obliged  to  alight  and  walk 
over  fallen  boulders,  this  being  the  first  trip  after  the 


24  AN  OHIO  WOMAN  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

extreme  winter  snows.  At  one  place,  being  ‘ ‘overtoppled” 
by  the  weight  of  my  clothes  and  the  cramped  position  that 
I had  been  in,  1 lost  my  balance  and  fell  down,  it  seemed 
to  me  to  be  about  a mile  and  a half.  In  a moment  there 
were  at  least  fifty  pairs  of  hands  to  assist  me  up  the  moun- 
tain side.  A dislocated  wrist,  a battered  nose,  and  a black- 
ened eye  was  the  inventory  of  damages.  Such  a chatter- 
ing as  those  natives  did  set  up,  while  I,  with  a bit  of 
medical  skill,  which  I am  modestly  proud  of,  attended  to 
my  needs.  The  day  had  been  so  full  of  delights  that  I 
did  not  mind  being  battered  and  bruised,  nor  did  I lose  ap- 
petite for  the  very  fine  dinner  we  had  at  the  Nikko  Hotel, 
so  daintily  served  in  the  most  attractive  fashion  by  the 
little  Japanese  maidens  in  their  dainty  costumes.  In  the 
evening  the  hotel  became  a lively  bazaar.  All  sorts  of 
wares  were  spread  out  before  us — minute  bridges  modeled 
after  the  famous  Emperor’s  Bridge  at  this  place.  No  pre- 
son  is  allowed  to  walk  upon  it  but  His  Majesty.  The 
story  goes  that  General  Grant  was  invited  to  cross  over 
upon  it,  but  declined  with  thanks.  In  returning  we  drove 
through  that  most  wonderful  grove  of  huge  trees,  the 
Cryptomaria,  a kind  of  cedar,  which  rise  to  a height  of  one 
hundred  fifty  or  two  hundred  feet.  I may  not  have  the 
number  of  feet  exactly,  but  they  are  so  tremendous  that 
one  wonders  if  they  can  really  be  living  Cryptomaria.  In- 
deed, much  of  all  Japan  seems  artificial.  Every  tiny  little 
house  has  its  own  little  garden,  perhaps  but  two  feet 
square,  yet  artistically  laid  out  with  bridges,  temples, 
miniature  trees  two  or  three  inches  high,  flowers  in  pots, 
walks,  and  little  cascades,  all  too  toy-like  and  tiny  for 


FROM  YOKOHAMA  TO  TOKIO 


25 


any  but  children.  Nearly  all  of  the  houses  have  their 
little  temples,  and  the  children  have  their  special  gods  ; 
little  boys  have  their  gods  of  learning  and  their  gods  of 
war.  The  prayer  to  the  god  of  learning  is  about  like  this: 
“ Oh,  Mr.  God  of  Learning,  won’t  you  please  help  me  to 
learn  my  lessons,  won’t  you  please  help  me  to  pass  my  ex- 
aminations, and  Oh,  Mr.  God  of  learning,  if  you  will  only 
help  me  pass  my  examination  and  to  study  my  lessons 
and  get  them  well,  when  I get  through  I will  bring  you 
a dish  of  pickles.”  This  prayer  was  given  me  by  a Jap- 
anese student  who  studied  in  our  country. 

We  found  that  nearly  every  banking  house  and  hotel 
had  for  their  expert  accountants  and  rapid  calculators, 
Chinamen.  I finally  asked  one  of  the  proprietors  how  it 
happened  and  he  said  it  was  because  they  could  trust  the 
Chinese  to  be  more  faithful  and  accurate.  On  the  other 
hand,  when  we  got  to  Hong  Kong  we  found  that  the 
policemen  were  of  India,  because  the  Chinese  could  not 
be  trusted  to  do  justice  to  their  fellow  men.  There  was 
such  a difference  between  the  service  of  the  cooly  Jin- 
ricksha men  in  Hong  Kong  and  in  Japan.  They  did  not 
seem  so  weak  or  travel-weary,  and  yet  they  had  often  to 
take  people  on  much  harder  jouruej’s. 


TOKIO. 


CHAPTER  FOUR. 


OKIO,  the  capitol,  with  a population  almost 
equal  to  New  York,  looks  like  a caricature, 
a miniature  cast  such  as  one  sees  of  the  Holy 
Land.  The  earliest  mention  of  the  use  of 
checks  in  Europe  is  in  the  latter  part  of  the 
seventeenth  century.  The  Japanese  had  already  been 
using  them  for  forty  years ; they  had  also  introduced  the 
strengthening  features  of  requiring  them  to  be  certified. 

Visiting  the  Rice  Exchange  in  Tokio  during  a year  of 
famine,  when  subject  to  wide  and  sudden  fluctuations,  it 
was  easy  to  imagine  one’s  self  in  the  New  York  Stock 
Exchange,  on  the  occasion  of  a flurry  in  Wall  Street. 
There  was  the  same  seeming  madness  intensified  by  the 
guttural  sounds  of  the  language,  and  the  brokers  were 
not  a whit  more  intelligible  than  a like  mob  in  any  other 
city.  I said  to  the  interpreter:  “You  Japanese  have 

succeeded  in  copying  every  feature  of  the  New  York  Stock 
Exchange.’’  “New  York  !’’  he  exclaimed,  “why,  this 
very  thing  has  been  going  on  here  in  Japan  these  two 

hundred  years  !” 

-(26) 


TOKIO 


27 


The  palace  is  a long,  low  building,  unattractive  in 
itself,  but  its  gardens  with  every  beautiful  device  of  na- 
tive art,  fountains,  bridges,  shrines,  fantastically  trim- 
med trees,  flowers,  winding  ways,  are  amazingly  artistic. 

The  Lord  High  Chamberlain  has  ordered  every  civil 
officer  to  appear  at  court  ceremonies  in  European  dress. 
It  seems  such  a pity,  for  they  are  not  of  the  style  or  car- 
riage to  adopt  court  costumes.  One  government  official 
wanted  to  be  so  very  correct  that  he  wore  his  dress  suit 
to  business.  So  anxious  are  they  to  be  thought  civilized. 
There  is  nothing  that  hurts  a gentleman’s  feelings  in 
Japan  more  than  to  hear  one  say,  “They  have  such  a 
beautiful  country  and  when  they  are  converted  from 
heathenism  it  will  be  ideal.”  There  is  a strong  Episco- 
pal church  and  college  in  the  capital. 

} I am  not  at  all  prepared  to  judge  the  Japanese  creeds 
or  modes  of  worship.  But  one  may  infer  something  of 
what  people  are  taught,  from  their  character  and  conduct. 
The  children  honor  their  parents  ; the  women  seem  obed- 
ient to  their  husbands  and  masters ; and  the  men  are 
imbued  with  the  love  of  country. 

The  prevailing  religion  of  Japan  is  Shintoism,  and 
through  the  kindness  of  Rev.  B.  T.  Sakai,  I will  give  a 
bit  of  his  experience.  He  wished  to  acquire  a better 
knowledge  of  English  and  found  that  Trinity  College  in 
Tokio  could  give  him  the  best  instruction.  He  went  to 
this  institution,  pledged  that  he  would  not,  on  any  ac- 
count, become  a Christian,  and  assisted  in  the  persecu- 
tion of  his  fellow  students,  who  were  becoming  convinced 
of  the  truth  of  Christianity.  During  the  extreme  cold 


28 


AN  OHIO  WOMAN  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 


weather,  the  institution  was  badly  in  need  of  warmer 
rooms.  Several  of  the  students  met  and  decided  to  make 
an  appeal  to  the  Bishop.  They  went  to  him,  three  Jap- 
anese boys  who  were  converted  and  two  who  were  not, 
and  told  him  in  very  plain  language  that  they  would  not 
endure  the  cold  in  their  rooms  any  longer.  The  Bishop 
listened  attentively  and  finally  said,  “ Well,  young  men, 
you  are  perfectly  right,  and  I have  a very  good  solution 
of  the  difficulty.  I am  an  old  man  and  cannot  live  many 
years,  so  I will  give  you  my  warm  room  and  I will  take 
the  cold  one.”  He  told  me  that  was  something  new  to 
him,  that  a person  of  his  years  and  standing  should  be 
willing  to  make  so  great  a sacrifice.  He  said  that  he 
could  not  keep  the  tears  from  running  down  his  cheeks, 
and  on  no  account  would  any  of  these  boys  accept  the 
Bishop’s  proposal ; he  gave  them  a new  idea  of  Christian 
charity. 

KOBE  AND  NAGASAKI. 

From  Nikko  we  returned  to  Yokohama  and  thence  by 
steamer  to  Kobe.  The  U.  S.  Consul,  General  M.  Lyon, 
and  his  wife  met  me.  They  gave  me  the  first  particulars 
of  the  wreck  of  the  Morgan  City.  Nothing  could  exceed 
their  kindness  during  the  two  days  of  my  stay  there. 
Their  familiarity  with  the  language,  the  people,  and  the 
shops  was  a great  help  to  me.  And  when  we  returned 
home,  I found  the  little  son  of  my  hosts  the  most  inter- 
esting object  of  all.  Born  in  Kobe,  cared  for  by  a native 
nurse,  an  ama,  as  they  are  called,  he  spoke  no  English, 
only  Japanese.  He  was  a beautiful  child,  fair,  golden 
haired,  blue  eyed,  and  sweet  of  temper. 


TOKIO 


29 


The  garden  of  the  U.  S.  Consul  at  Kobe  was  a marvel 
of  beauty.  There  was  a rumor  that  the  United  States 
government  might  purchase  it.  I hope  so,  because  it  is 
in  a part  of  the  city  which  has  a commanding  view  of  the 
bay,  and  it  is  such  a joy  to  see  our  beautiful  flag  floating 
from  the  staff  in  front  of  the  consulate.  No  one  appreci- 
ates the  meaning  of  “Our  Flag’’  until  one  sees  it  in 
foreign  countries. 

I visited  the  famous  Buddist  Temple  of  Kobe  ; it  was 
placed  in  a garden  and  there  were  hundreds  of  poor,  sore 
eyed,  sickly,  dirty  Japanese  people  around,  and  it  gave 
one  the  impression  that  this  temple  might  have  been  used 
for  other  purposes  than  worship.  In  all  the  temples  that 
I visited,  I never  saw,  except  in  one,  anything  that  ap- 
proached worship,  and  that  was  in  the  Sacred  Temple  of 
the  White  Horse,  Nagasaki,  and  an  American  who  had 
lived  there  for  eight  years  said  that  I must  be  mistaken 
for  she  had  never  heard  of  any  such  doings  as  I saw. 
There  seemed  to  be  about  a dozen  priests  who  were  car- 
rying hot  water  which  they  dipped  out  of  a boiling  cald- 
ron and  were  sprinkling  it  about  in  the  temple  with 
curious  intonations  and  chantings.  They  ran  back  and 
forth,  swishing  the  water  about  in  a very  promiscuous 
manner.  I stood  at  a respectful  distance  fearing  to  get 
some  of  the  hot  fluid  on  myself.  Meanwhile  the  White 
Horse  stood  in  the  yard  well  groomed  and  cared  for, 
little  knowing  what  they  were  doing  in  his  honor.  I 
could  not  hear  of  a single  place  where  their  poor  or  sick 
and  afflicted  were  cared  for.  They  may  have  asylums 
and  hospitals,  but  I never  heard  of  any. 


30 


AN  OHIO  WOMAN  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 


Nagasaki  is  beautiful  for  situation.  A river-like  in- 
let, reminding  one  of  the  Hudson  river,  leads  into  the 
broad  lake-like  harbor.  Eight  or  ten  of  our  transports 
lay  at  anchor  and  still  there  was  abundant  room  for  the 
liners  and  for  the  little  craft  plying  between  this  and  the 
small  ports. 

The  dock  is  famous ; all  our  ships  in  the  east  put  in 
here  for  repairs  if  possible. 

The  high  hills  circle  about  the  town  and  bay ; they 
are  highly  cultivated  and  dotted  with  the  peculiar  Japa- 
nese house.  The  native  house  of  but  one  story,  is  not 
more  than  twelve  or  fourteen  feet  square,  and  is  divided 
into  rooms  only  by  paper  screens  that  may  be  removed  at 
will.  The  people  live  out  of  doors  as  much  as  possible, 
or  in  their  arbors.  In  cold  weather  a charcoal  brazier  is 
set  in  the  center  of  the  house.  At  night  each  Jap  rolls 
himself  in  a thickly  padded  mat  and  lies  on  the  floor  with 
his  feet  to  this  “stove.” 

A party  was  made  up  to  visit  the  Concert  Hall  of  the 
celebrated  Geisha  girls.  General  and  Mrs.  Greenleaf  and 
many  officers  and  their  wives  from  the  transports  were  of 
the  number.  They  kindly  invited  me  to  join  them.  A 
sum  total  of  about  fifteen  dollars  is  charged  for  the  enter- 
tainment ; each  one  bears  his  share  of  the  cost.  It  was  a 
rainy  evening,  rickshaws  were  in  order.  About  thirty 
drew  up  before  the  Nagasaki  Hotel.  It  was  a sight!  the 
funny  little  carriages,  man  before  to  pull,  man  behind 
to  push,  gaily  colored  lantern  fore  and  aft  and  amused 
Americans  in  the  middle,  laughing,  singing,  and  enjo}'- 
ing  the  fun,  a strange  contrast  to  the  stolid  native. 


TOKIO 


31 


The  long  line  of  carriages  wound  in  and  out  like  a 
snake  with  shining  scales.  The  night  was  so  dark  that 
little  was  to  be  seen  except  the  firefly  lights  and  the  bare 
tawny  legs  of  the  rickshaw  men. 

It  has  been  said  that  the  Japanese  are  the  soul  of 
music.  I am  sure  that  no  ears  are  cultivated  to  endure 
it.  As  we  entered  the  rooms  we  were  obliged  to  remove 
our  shoes  and  put  on  sandals.  Instead  of  sitting  down 
on  chairs  we  took  any  position  we  could  on  the  floor  mats 
that  were  placed  at  our  disposal.  At  the  first  sound  from 
the  throat  of  a famous  singer  in  a staccato  “ E-E-E-E,” 
we  all  sprang  to  our  feet  thinking  she  was  possibly  going 
into  some  sort  of  a fit.  With  a twang  on  the  strings  of 
the  flattened  out  little  instrument,  we  subsided,  conclud- 
ing that  the  concert  had  begun.  Then  when  the  others 
joined  in,  the  mingled  sounds  were  not  unlike  the  wail 
of  cats  on  the  back  fence.  The  girls  themselves  looked 
pretty,  in  kneeling  posture,  lips  painted  bright  red,  hair 
prettily  braided  and  adorned  with  artificial  flowers  or  bits 
of  jewelry.  If  they  had  been  quiet  they  would  have 
looked  like  beautiful  Japanese  dolls  seated  on  the  floor. 
After  several  “ catterwaulings  ” by  the  choir,  came  the 
dances.  It  was  all  a series  of  physical  culture  move- 
ments ; the  music  was  rendered  in  most  perfect  rhythm 
by  two  of  the  girls,  it  was  the  poetry  of  motion.  They 
would  take  pieces  of  silk  and  make  little  bouquets,  whirl- 
winds, and  divers  things ; the  most  beautiful  of  all  was 
a cascade  of  water.  It  was  hard  for  us  to  believe  it  was 
not  actually  a waterfall.  It  was  made  of  unfolding  yards 
of  white  silk  of  the  most  sheer  and  gauzy  kind.  From  a 


32 


AN  OHIO  WOMAN  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 


thin  package  six  inches  square,  there  shimmered  out  a 
thousand  yards — a veritable  cascade  of  gleaming  water. 
We  were  treated  to  refreshments,  impossible  cakes  and 
tea.  We  were  thankful  that  we  sat  near  an  open  win- 
dow that  we  might  throw  the  cake  over  our  shoulder, 
trusting  some  forlorn  little  Japanese  who  liked  it  might 
get  it. 

The  tea  is  finely  powdered  dust ; the  tea  maker  is 
supposed  to  measure  exactly  the  capacity  of  the  drinker 
and  to  take  enough  of  this  finely  powdered  tea  to  make 
three  and  one-half  mouthfuls  exactly.  They  do  it  by 
taking  a rare  bit  of  porcelain  and  holding  it  in  their  hands, 
turn  it  about  and  talk  learnedly  of  the  various,  wonder- 
ful arts  of  pottery  and  how  many  years  they  have  had 
this  certain  piece  of  fine  porcelain,  turning  it  about  in  the 
meantime  in  their  hands  as  they  comment  on  its  beauties 
and  qualities,  and  then  take  three  large  swallows  of  the 
tea  and  one  small  sip  and  then  go  on  talking  about  the 
wonders  of  the  cup.  These  cups  are  anything  but  what 
we  should  call  tea  cups.  They  are  really  large  bowls, 
sometimes  with  a cover  but  more  often  without.  But  it 
is  refreshing  to  drink  their  tea  even  if  one  cannot  do  it  a 
la  Jap.  Everywhere  in  Japan  you  are  asked  to  take  a 
cup  of  tea,  in  the  steam  cars,  in  the  shops  and  by  the 
wayside.  A Japanese  told  me  that  he  could  tell  whether 
a person  was  educated  or  not  by  the  manner  in  which  he 
drank  tea.  They  take  lessons  in  tea  drinking  as  we  do 
in  any  accomplishment  we  wish  to  acquire.  One  friend 
could  not  resist  buying  tea  pots  and  pretty  cups ; she  had 
a grand  collection  after  one  day  of  sight-seeing. 


JAPANESE  MUSICIANS. 


TORII. 


TOKIO 


33 


Their  potteries  are  not  like  ours,  huge  factories,  but 
household  things.  Here  and  there  in  a family  is  an  art- 
ist who  can  make  a bit  of  porcelain,  a few  cups,  plates, 
or  saucers  stamped  with  his  own  individual  mark.  The 
quality  varies,  of  course,  with  the  skill  of  the  maker,  but 
the  poorest  work  is  beautiful ; and  one  develops  an  insati- 
ate greed  to  possess  this  and  this  and  just  one  more. 

The  ancient  Imari,  Satsuma,  and  the  old  bits  of  pot- 
tery that  have  been  kept  in  the  older  families  for  centur- 
ies are,  to  my  mind,  the  most  wonderful  works  of  art  of 
the  kind  in  the  world  ; they  look  with  pride  on  the  arti- 
cles of  virtu  as  almost  sacred. 


JAPAN  IN  GENERAL. 


CHAPTER  FIVE. 

NE  of  the  many  objects  to  attract  the  eyes  of 
one  traveling  in  Japan  is  the  “Torii”  or 
sacred  gateway.  It  is  said  that  once  a bird 
from  Heaven  flew  down  and  alighted  upon 
the  earth.  Here  the  first  gate  was  erected, 
the  gate  of  heaven.  Its  construction,  whether  it  be  of 
wood,  stone  or  metal,  is  ever  the  same,  two  columns 
slightly  inclined  toward  each  other,  supporting  a horizon- 
tal cross-beam  with  widely  projecting  ends,  and  beneath 

t 

this  another  beam  with  its  ends  fitted  into  the  columns  ; 
the  whole  forming  a singularly  graceful  construction,  illus- 
trating how  the  J apanese  produce  the  best  effects  with  the 
simplest  means.  This  sacred  entrance  arches  the  path 
wherever  any  Japanese  foot  approaches  hallowed  ground. 
It  is,  however,  over  all  consecrated  portals  and  lands,  and 
does  not  necessarily  indicate  the  nearness  of  a temple. 
You  find  it  everywhere  in  your  wanderings,  over  hill  and 
dale,  at  the  entrance  to  mountain  paths,  or  deep  in  the 
recesses  of  the  woods,  sometimes  it  is  on  the  edge  of  an 

oasis  of  shrubbery,  or  in  the  very  heart  of  the  rice  fields, 
(34) 


JAPAN  IN  GENERAL 


oO 

sometimes  in  front  of  cliff  or  cavern.  Pass  under  its  arch 
and  follow  the  path  it  indicates  and  you  will  reach — it 
may  be  by  a few  steps,  it  may  be  by  a long  walk  or  climb 
— a temple  sometimes,  but  more  often  a simple  shrine;  and 
if  in  this  shrine  you  find  nothing  ; close  by  you  will  see 
some  reason  for  its  being  there.  There  will  be  a twisted 
pine  or  grove  of  stately  trees,  to  consecrate  the  place  and 
perpetuate  some  memory.  Perhaps  the  way  leads  to  the 
view  of  some  magnificent  panorama  of  land  or  sea  spread 
out  before  the  gazer  who,  with  adoring  heart,  worships  the 
beauty  or  the  grandeur  of  his  country.  Wherever  there  is 
a Torii,  there  is  a shrine  of  his  religion  ; and  wherever 
there  is  an  outlook  over  the  land  of  his  birth,  there  is  a 
temple  of  his  faith. 

As  we  left  Nagasaki  for  Shanghai,  I noticed  on  this 
occasion,  as  on  four  later  visits,  the  great  activity  of  this 
port  as  a coaling  station.  It  has  an  immense  trade.  Men, 
women,  and  children  form  in  line  from  the  junk  which  is 
drawn  alongside  of  our  huge  ships,  and  then  pass  baskets 
of  coal  from  one  to  the  other.  Many  of  the  women  and 
girls  have  babies  strapped  on  their  backs,  and  there  they 
stand  in  line  for  hours  passing  these  baskets  back  and 
forth.  As  I was  watching  them  one  day,  for  I saw  them 
loading  many  times,  for  some  reason  not  apparent,  they 
all  pounced  upon  one  small  man,  and,  as  I thought,  kicked 
him  to  pieces  with  their  heavy  wooden  shoes  and  strong 
feet.  After  five  minutes  of  such  pummeling,  as  I was 
looking  for  a few  shreds  of  a flattened  out  Japanese,  he 
arose,  shook  himself,  got  in  line,  and  passed  baskets  as 
before. 


36  AN  OHIO  WOMAN  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

One  day  from  my  comfortable  bamboo  chair  I watched 
some  coolies  getting  some  immense  timbers  out  of  the  bay 
near  where  I sat.  It  did  not  seem  possible  that  these  small 
men  could  manage  those  huge  timbers,  which  were  so 
slippery  from  lying  in  the  water  that  they  would  often 
have  to  allow  them  to  slip  back,  even  after  they  had  got 
them  nearly  on  land.  I expected  every  moment  to  see 
those  poor  creatures  either  plunge  into  the  water  them- 
selves or  be  crushed  by  the  weight  of  the  heavy  timbers ; 
and  while  I watched  for  about  two  hours  they  must  have 
taken  out  about  twenty  or  thirty  logs,  twenty  or  twenty- 
five  feet  long  and  two  feet  through.  I often  watched  the 
coolies  unloading  ships.  Two  of  them  would  take  six  or 
eight  trunks,  bind  them  together,  run  a heavy  bamboo 
pole  through  the  knotted  ends  and  away  they  would  go. 
I never  saw  a single  person  carrying  what  we,  in  America, 
pride  ourselves  so  much  on,  “ a full  dinner  pail.”  They 
did  not  even  seem  to  have  the  pail. 

There  are  horses  in  Japan  and  they  are  poor  specimens 
compared  with  the  fine  animals  that  we  know.  They  are 
chiefly  pack-horses,  used  in  climbing  over  the  mountains, 
consequently  they  go  with  their  noses  almost  on  the 
ground.  Instead  of  iron  shoes  they  have  huge  ones  made 
of  plaited  straw.  They  are  literally  skin  and  bones,  these 
poor  beasts  of  burden. 

Horses  may  be  judged,  in  part,  by  the  mouth  ; but 
the  Japs  may  be  wholly  judged  by  the  leg.  It  did  distress 
me  to  ride  after  a pair  of  legs  whose  calves  were  abnor- 
mally large,  whose  varicose  veins  were  swollen  almost  to 
bursting.  As  a rule,  the  men  trot  along  with  very  little 


JAPAN  IN  GENERAL 


37 


effort  and,  seemingly,  have  a very  good  time.  The}’  cheer- 
fully play  the  part  of  both  horseman  and  horse,  of  con- 
ductor, motineer  and  power. 

I never  could  get  used  to  the  number  of  Jinrickshas 
drawn  up  in  front  of  the  railroad  station,  and  as  it  is  the 
only  way  to  get  about  the  country,  I accepted  it  with  as 
good  a grace  as  I could.  At  a large  station  there  may  be 
hundreds  of  rickshaws  and  double  hundreds  of  drivers, 
all  clamoring  as  wildly  as  our  most  aggressive  cabmen. 
They  wave  their  hands  frantically,  crying,  “ Me  speak 
English  ! Me  speak  English  ! Me  speak  English  !” 

They  knew  originally,  or  have  learned  of  foreigners, 
how  to  cheat  in  Japan  as  elsewhere.  One  often  needs  to 
ask,  “ Is  this  real  tortoise  shell?”  The  answer,  even  if 
imitation,  is  “ Now,  this  is  good  ; this  is  without  flaw.” 
I found  it  of  great  advantage,  as  far  as  possible,  to  keep 
the  same  men,  and  they  became  interested,  not  only  in 
taking  me  to  better  places,  but  in  assisting  me  in  procur- 
ing articles,  not  only  of  the  best  value,  but  at  Japanese 
prices.  It  is  never  best  to  purchase  the  first  time  you  see 
anything,  even  if  you  want  it  very  badly.  I secured  one 
Satsuma  cup  that  has  a thousand  faces  on  it.  It  is  very 
old,  very  wonderfully  exact,  and  a work  of  very  great  art. 
It  took  me  several  days  to  purchase  it,  as  the  man  was 
very  loath  to  part  with  it,  and  at  the  end  I got  it  for  very 
much  less  than  I was  willing  to  give  the  first  day. 

They  do  not  seem  to  have  any  day  of  rest — all  shops 
are  open  seven  days  of  the  week.  All  work  goes  on  in 
the  same  unbroken  round.  Indeed,  from  the  time  I left 
San  Francisco  until  my  return,  it  was  hard  for  me  to 


38  AN  OHIO  WOMAN  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

‘ ‘ keep  track  ’ ’ of  Sunday,  even  with  the  almanac  I carried; 
and  when  I did  chase  it  down,  I involuntarily  exclaimed, 

‘ ‘ But  today  is  Saturday  at  home  ; the  Saturday  crowds 
will  parade  the  streets  this  evening;  the  churches  will  not 
be  open  until  tomorrow  morning.” 

I learned  here  that  the  average  wages  of  a laboring 
man,  working  from  dawn  to  dark,  is  about  seven  cents 
a day  of  our  money.  The  men  do  much  of  the  menial 
service,  much  of  the  delicate  work,  too.  The  finest  em- 
broidery, with  most  intricate  patterns  and  delicate  tracings 
in  white  and  colors,  is  done  by  men.  Two  will  work  at 
the  frame,  one  putting  the  needle  through  on  his  side, 
and  the  other  thrusting  it  back.  In  that  way  the  em- 
broideries are  alike  on  both  sides,  except  the  work  which 
is  to  be  framed.  They  are  so  very  industrious  that  they 
very  rarely  look  up  when  anyone  is  examining  their  work. 

As  I was  watching  some  glass  blowers,  the  little  son 
of  one  raised  his  eyes  from  the  various  intricate  bulbs  that 
he  was  handing  to  his  father  and  gave  him  the  wrong 
color.  Without  a word  of  warning  the  father  gave  him  a 
severe  stroke  with  the  hot  tube  across  the  forehead,  which 
left  a welt  the  size  of  my  finger.  Without  one  cry  of  pain 
he  immediately  handed  his  father  the  correct  tube  and 
went  on  with  his  work  as  if  nothing  had  happened.  I had 
intended  to  buy  that  very  article,  but  it  would  have  meant 
to  me  the  suffering  it  cost  the  child,  and  I would  not  have 
taken  it  if  it  had  been  given  me. 

* Sanitary  conditions,  as  far  as  I could  judge,  were  bad. 
The  houses,  in  the  first  place,  are  very  small.  I under 
stand  they  are  made  small  on  account  of  earthquakes.  It 


JAPAN  IN  GENERAL 


39 


is  said  that  the  whole  of  Japan  is  in  one  quake  all  the 
time.  They  have  shocks  daily,  hence,  the  houses  are 
only  one  story  high. 

I attended  an  auction  of  one  of  the  finest  collections 
of  works  of  art  that  had  ever  been  placed  before  the  pub- 
lic. The  only  way  we  could  tell  that  many  of  these  works 
were  especially  choice  was  by  the  number  of  elegantly 
dressed  Japanese  who  were  bending  before  them  in  ad- 
miration. One  could  see  that,  as  a whole,  it  was  a col- 
lection of  rare  things.  The  books  and  pictures  were  the 
most  interesting.  One  picture,  “White  Chickens,”  on 
white  parchment  was  very  artistic.  It  did  not  seen  possi- 
ble that  these  white  feathered  fowls  could  so  nearly  resem- 
ble the  live  birds  in  their  various  attitudes  and  sizes,  for 
there  were  about  twelve  from  the  smallest  chick  to  the 
largest  crowing  chanticleer  of  the  barn  yard.  Another 
picture  was  of  fish,  which  was  so  exact  that  one  could 
almost  vow  that  they  were  alive  and  ready  to  be  caught. 
Indeed,  one  of  the  fish  was  on  the  end  of  the  line  with 
the  hook  in  his  mouth,  and  his  resistance  was  seen  from 
the  captive  head  to  the  end  of  the  little  forked  tail.  They 
excel  in  birds,  butterflies  and  flowers;  and  one  knows  the 
full  meaning  of  the  “ Flowery  Kingdom  ” of  both  China 
and  Japan  as  one  travels  about.  One  sees  in  the  public 
parks  notices  posted,  “ Strangers  do  not  molest  or  capture 
the  butterflies.”  For  nowhere,  except  in  this  Oriental 
country,  are  the  butterflies  so  gorgeously  magnificent. 

Japan  is  truly  a land  of  umbrellas  and  parasols.  With 
frames  made  of  the  light,  delicate  bamboo,  strands  woven 
closely  and  then  either  covered  with  fine  rice  paper  or 


40  AN  OHIO  WOMAN  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

silk,  the}"  are  ready  for  rain  or  sunshine.  They  all  carry 
them.  The  markets  are  the  most  attractive  that  one  could 
imagine,  but  after  hearing  of  the  means  used  to  enrich 
the  soil,  it  is  impossible  to  enjoy  any  fruit  or  vegetable. 
In  all  the  towns  are  the  native  and  the  European  quarters. 
In  the  latter  one  can  have  thoroughly  good  accommoda- 
tions ; the  sendee  and  attendance  are  excellent. 

At  one  place  on  the  coast  of  Japan  there  is  cormorant 
fishing.  Men  go  in  small  boats  with  flaring  torches,  hun- 
dreds of  them.  The  birds  with  their  long  bills  reach  down 
into  the  water  and  pick  up  a huge  fish,  then  the  master 
immediately  takes  it  out  of  the  bill,  before  it  can  be  swal- 
lowed, and  places  it  in  his  boat  for  market.  These  birds 
in  a single  evening  get  thousands  of  fish.  I suppose  they 
are  rewarded  at  the  end  of  their  sendee  by  being  allowed 
to  fish  for  themselves. 

Kite  flying  is  a favorite  pastime  ; the  size,  shape,  and 
curious  decorations  are  astonishing.  They  have  fights 
with  their  kites  up  in  the  air,  and  there  is  just  as  much 
excitement  over  these  kite  games  as  we  ever  have  over 
foot-ball.  They  go  into  paroxysms  of  joy  when  the  favor- 
ite wins.  There  are  singing  kites  and  signal  kites  and  a 
hundred  other  kinds. 

I saw  no  children  indulging  in  any  games  on  the  streets. 
As  soon  as  they  are  able  to  carry  or  do  anything  at  all 
they  seem  to  be  employed.  I could  not  but  think  that 
most  of  the  Japanese  children  are  unhealthy.  Every  one 
of  them  had  sore  eyes.  Small  of  statue,  the  children 
seemed  too  small  to  walk,  and  yet  those  that  looked  only 
seven  or  eight  years  old  would,  invariably,  have  each  a 


JAPAN  IN  GENERAL, 


41 


baby  strapped  on  his  back,  and  the  poor  little  creatures 
would  go  running  about  with  the  small  human  burdens 
dangling  as  they  could. 

There  is  one  delightful  thing  about  the  people,  as  a 
whole,  their  attentive,  courteous  manners  ; their  solici- 
tude to  assist  you  in  whatever  they  can.  They  are  a 
domestic  and  thrifty  little  race,  the  men  doing  by  far  the 
larger  part  of  the  work.  The  enormous  burdens  that 
these  little  mites  of  humanity  can  pick  up  and  carry  are 
an  increasing  wonder. 

In  visiting  Japan,  it  is  convenient  to  make  Yokohama 
one’s  headquarters  for  the  northern  part  of  the  kingdom, 
Nagasaki  for  the  southern  part,  and  Kobe  for  the  central 
part ; and  from  these  centers  to  take  excursions  to  the 
various  points  of  interest. 

My  first  visit  was  brief,  for  I still  clung  to  the  Gaelic, 
moving  when  she  moved,  and  stopping  at  her  ports  accord- 
ing to  her  schedule.  But  I returned  and  made  a stay  of 
many  months,  exploring  at  leisure  the  more  important 
or  attractive  places.  I have  gathered  together  in  this 
rambling  account  the  various  observations  and  impressions 
of  these  various  visits,  and  have  tried  to  unite  them  into 
one  story. 


IN  SHANGHAI. 


CHAPTER  SIX. 


UT  it  is  time  to  bid  Japan  good-bye  and  sail 
for  China.  It  is  a three  days’  voyage  from 
Nagasaki  to  Shanghai.  We  left  the  ship  at 
the  broad  mouth  of  the  Yang-tse-Kiang  and 
in  a small  river  boat  went  up  a tributary  to 
Shanghai,  a distance  of  twelve  miles. 

I was  met  at  the  dock  by  our  Consul  General,  John 
Goodnow,  and  his  wife,  with  their  elegantly  liveried 
coachman,  and  was  taken  to  the  consulate,  and,  after  a 
fine  tiffin  (lunch),  we  started  for  the  walled  city.  ' A 
shrinking  horror  seized  me  as  if  I were  at  the  threshold 
of  the  infernal  regions  as  we  crossed  the  draw  bridge  over 
the  moat  and  entered  the  narrow  gate  of  the  vast  city  of 
more  than  a million  souls.  Immediately  we  were  greeted 
by  the  “ wailers  ” and  lepers, — this  was  my  first  sight  of 
the  loathsome  leprosy.  Our  guide  had  supplied  himself 
with  a quantity  of  small  change.  Twenty-five  cents  of 
our  money  made  about  a quart  of  their  small  change.  A 
moment  later  we  met  the  funeral  cortege  of  a rich  mer- 
chant. First  came  wailers  and  then  men  beating  on 
(42) 


IN  SHANGHAI 


43 


drums  ; then  sons  of  the  deceased  dressed  in  white  (white 
is  their  emblem  of  mourning) ; then  the  servants  carrying 
the  body  on  their  shoulders.  More  wailers  followed,  then 
came  the  wives.  It  made  a strange  impression. 

The  streets  are  so  very  narrow  that  we  had  to  press 
our  bodies  close  against  the  wall  to  keep  from  being  crushed 
as  the  procession  passed  us.  We  heard  the  tooting  of  a 
horn.  Our  guide  said,  “Here  comes  the  Mandarin.’’ 
We  began  to  press  ourselves  into  a niche  in  the  wall  to 
watch  him  pass.  First  came  the  buglers,  then  the  soldiers 
and  last  the  gayly-bedecked  Mandarin  carried  in  a sedan 
chair  on  the  shoulders  of  six  coolies.  He  looked  the  very 
picture  of  the  severe  authority  that  he  is  invested  with. 
They  say  that  he  has  witnessed  in  one  day  the  execution 
of  five  hundred  criminals.  He  was  obliged  to  put  a mark 
on  each  one’s  head  with  his  own  fingers,  and,  after  the 
head  was  severed  from  the  body,  to  remark  it  in  proof  of 
the  exactness  of  his  work.  I was  glad  when  I had  seen 
the  last  of  him,  though  it  is  only  to  go  from  bad  to  worse. 

In  the  opium  dens,  hundreds  of  people,  of  both  sexes, 
of  various  ages,  kinds  and  colors,  were  reclining  in  most 
horrible  attitudes.  One  glimpse  was  enough  for  me. 

From  this  place  we  entered  the  temple.  One  of  our 
guides  said  he  was  obliged  to  buy  joss-sticks  and  kneel 
before  the  gods  or  it  would  make  us  trouble,  because  they 
are  watchful  of  what  foreigners  do.  They  consider  us 
white  devils.  We  saw  a war  god  nine  feet  high  mounted 
on  a war  steed  one  foot  high,  a child’s  woolly  toy.  There 
were  placed  before  the  gods  about  six  or  eight  cups  of  tea 
and  hundreds  of  fragrant  burning  tapers. 


44 


AN  OHIO  WOMAN  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 


At  one  point  our  hearts  failed  us.  We  came  to  a dark 
bridge  ; it  looked  so  forbidding  with  its  various  windings, 
so  frail  in  structure,  so  thronged,  that  we  were  timid 
about  stepping  upon  it.  Being  assured  that  it  was  safe 
we  ventured  across.  While  it  shook  under  our  weight, 
we  did  not  fall  into  the  filthy  frog-pond  beneath. 

When  we  reached  the  center,  there  were  a number  of 
sleight-of-hand  performers  who  were  doing  all  sorts  of 
curious  things  ; bringing  out  of  the  stone  pavement  living 
animals,  bottles  of  wine,  bits  of  porcelain,  and  cakes,  too 
filthy  looking  even  to  touch. 

There  were  for  sale  numbers  of  beautiful  birds  in  cages 
and  wonderful  bits  of  art  of  most  intricate  patterns  and 
exquisite  fineness.  We  saw  beautiful  pieces  of  brocaded 
silk  and  satin  on  little  hand-looms,  made  by  these  patient, 
ever  working  people,  who  only  have  one  week  in  the  year 
for  rest.  There  does  not  seem  to  be  any  provision  made 
for  night  or  rest,  and  each  Chinaman  looks  forward  to 
this  one  holiday  week  in  which  he  does  no  work  whatever, 
and  in  which  he  must  have  all  the  money  read}7  to  pay 
every  debt  he  owes  or  be  punished. 

I did  not  learn  how  much  the  average  Chinaman  gets 
for  a day’s  wages,  but  I know  that  one  of  my  friends  sent 
a dozen  linen  dresses  to  be  laundried,  and  that  the  charge 
was  thirty-six  cents.  To  be  sure  a satin  dress  that  she 
sent  to  be  cleaned  was  put  in  the  tub  with  the  rest.  In  the 
markets  were  impossible  looking  sausages,  dried  ducks,  and 
curious  frogs.  In  China,  as  in  Japan,  each  individual  has 
his  own  little  table  about  two  feet  long,  fourteen  inches 
.wide  and  six  or  eight  inches  high, — not  unlike  a tray. 


IN  SHANGHAI 


45 


Their  religion  is  centuries  old,  but  if  cleanliness  be 
next  to  godliness,  they  are  still  centuries  away  from 
Christian  virtues.  The  vast  city  crowded  from  portal  to 
portal  is  one  seething  mass  of  living  beings  pushing,  hus- 
tling, and  silent.  With  the  exception  of  a soothsayer,  I did 
not  see  in  an  entire  day  two  people  talking  together,  so 
intent  were  they  on  their  various  duties. 

It  was  a joy  to  get  out  of  the  native  into  the  European 
parts  of  Shanghai  and  feel  safe ; and  yet  there  was  not  a 
single  thing,  upon  thinking  it  over,  that  one  could  say 
was  alarming,  not  a disrespectful  look  from  any  one.  I 
said  upon  reaching  the  outer  gate,  “Thank  God,  we  are 
out  of  there  alive  and  safe.’’  It  was  the  first  experience 
only  to  be  renewed  with  like  scenes  and  impressions  at 
Canton,  with  the  same  thankfulness  of  heart,  too,  for 
escape. 

Our  guide  told  us  that  he  would  be  in  no  way  responsi- 
ble for  anything  that  might  happen  in  traveling  about 
Canton.  The  land  and  its  people  are  a marvel  and  a mys- 
tery; the  great  wonder  is  how  all  this  vast  multitude  can 
be  reached  and  helped. 

The  rivers  teem  with  all  sorts  of  junks  filled  with  all 
sorts  of  wares  going  to  market,  and  it  was  upon  the  quays 
that  we  found  for  sale  the  finest  carved  things,  the  richest 
embroideries,  the  most  delicately  wrought  wares.  The 
monkey  seems  to  be  a favorite  subject  with  the  artist. 
Look  at  these  exquisite  bits  of  carved  ivory.  This  one  is 
the  god  monkey  who  sees  no  evil,  his  hands  cover  his  eyes; 
this  one  is  the  god  monkey  who  hears  no  evil,  his  hands 
cover  his  ears  ; and  this  one  is  the  god  monkey  who  speaks 


46  AN  OHIO  WOMAN  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

no  evil,  his  hands  cover  his  mouth.  Half  ashamed  of  our 
own  dullness  an  old  lesson  came  back  with  new  signifi- 
cance,— be  blind,  deaf,  and  dumb  towards  evil. 

One  curiously  wrought  specimen  of  art  was  an  ink- 
well encircled  by  nine  monkeys.  In  the  center,  on  the 
lid,  was  the  finest  monkey  of  all ; the  diversity  of  bodily 
attitudes,  the  variety  of  facial  expressions,  and  the  per- 
fection of  all  was  wonderful.  Temple  cloths,  with  pic- 
tures of  various  gods  embroidered  in  fine  threads  of  gold, 
were  marvels  of  patient  labor. 

We  once  entertained  at  our  home  in  Akron  a converted 
Chinaman  who  had  come  to  Gambier,  Ohio,  to  study  for 
the  ministry.  After  the  lapse  of  many  years  his  son  came 
to  Ohio  to  be  educated.  It  was  interesting  to  hear  him 
tell  of  the  ways  and  customs  of  his  native  land.  I asked 
him  about  servants  being  so  very  cheap,  and  he  informed 
me  that  good  servants  might  not  be  considered  so  cheap. 
The  best  families,  according  to  the  value  they  place  upon 
the  friendship  of  their  friends,  pay  for  every  present  re- 
ceived a certain  per  cent,  of  its  value  to  their  servants ; 
and  at  every  birthday  of  any  member  of  the  family,  every 
wedding,  every  birth  and  death,  there  are  hundreds  of 
presents  exchanged.  I saw  many  servants  in  the  large 
cities  carrying  these  various  gifts,  and  some  of  the  servants 
were  dressed  very  well,  having,  on  the  garments  they 
wore,  the  coat-of-arms  or  rank  of  their  master.  On  a 
little  table  or  tray  was  placed  the  richly  embroidered 
family  napkin  with  the  gift  neatly  wrapped  therein,  and 
on  both  sides  were  placed  lighted  tapers  or  artificial 
flowers. 


IN  SHANGHAI 


47 


As  with  Shanghai  so  with  all  the  coast  towns  of  China, 
there  is  the  old  walled  city  swarming  with  millions  of 
natives,  and  the  new  or  European  city  as  modern  as  New 
York.  My  two  days’  stay  seemed  like  two  weeks,  so  full 
was  it  of  strange  sights. 

On  returning  to  the  Gaelic,  I was  pleased  to  find  that 
two  Americans  had  been  added  to  our  passenger  list.  In- 
deed, it  was  the  last  of  the  many  kindly  offices  of  Mr. 
Goodnow  to  introduce  me  to  Rev.  and  Mrs.  C.  Goodrich. 
These  new  friends  wrere  delightful  traveling  companions. 
For  a longer  stay  at  Hong  Kong  and  a much  better  boat 
to  Manila,  I was  indebted  to  their  thoughtfulness  for  me. 

We  were  told  that  we  must  all  get  in  position  to  watch 
the  entrance  at  Hong  Kong.  Captain  Finch  said  that  for 
fifteen  years  he  always  went  down  from  the  bridge  as  soon 
as  he  could  to  see  the  wmnderful  display  of  curious  junks 
and  craft  of  every  conceivable  kind  that  swarmed  about 
the  boat,  some  advertising  their  wares,  some  booming 
hotels,  some  fortune-telling  in  hieroglyphics  which  only 
the  Chinese  can  interpret. 

Before  our  boat  dropped  anchor  there  were  hundreds 
of  Celestials  climbing  up  the  sides  of  the  ship  with  all 
kinds  of  articles  for  sale.  There  were  sleight-of-hand  per- 
formers, there  were  tumblers  of  red  looking  stuff  to  drink; 
there  were  trained  mice  and  rats.  We  had  a man  on  ship- 
board who  was  very  clever  with  these  sleight-of-hand 
tricks,  but  he  said  he  could  not  see  where  they  got  a sin- 
gle one  of  the  reptiles  and  articles  that  they  would  take 
out  of  the  ladies’  hands,  their  bonnets,  and  his  own  feet, 
which  were  bare. 


48  AN  OHIO  WOMAN  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

The  city  of  Hong  Kong  is  built  upon  a rock  whose 
sides  are  almost  vertical.  The  city  park  is  considered  one 
of  the  finest  in  the  world.  It  has  been  said  that  every 
known  tree  and  shrub  is  grown  there  ; and  when  one  con- 
siders that  every  foot  of  its  soil  has  been  carried  to  its 
place,  the  wonder  is  how  it  has  all  been  done.  The  blos- 
soms seem  to  say,  “The  whole  world  is  here  and  in  bloom.  ’ ’ 
The  banyan  tree  grows  here  luxuriantly  and  is  a great 
curiosity.  The  main  trunk  of  the  tree  grows  to  the  height 
of  about  thirty  or  forty  feet.  The  first  branches,  and 
indeed  many  of  the  upper  branches,  strike  down  into  the 
ground.  These  give  the  trees  the  appearance  of  being 
supported  on  huge  sticks.  As  to  the  bamboo,  it  is  the 
principal  tree  of  which  they  build  their  houses,  and  make 
many  articles  for  export  in  the  shape  of  Woven  chairs, 
tables,  and  baskets  of  most  intricate  and  beautiful  designs, 
most  reasonable  in  price.  The  first  shoots  in  spring  are 
used  as  food  and  make  a delicious  dish.  It  is  prepared 
like  cauliflower.  Our  much  despised  “ pussley  ” proves 
to  be  a veritable  blessing  here  ; it  makes  a nice  green  or 
salad. 

China  seemed  like  one  vast  graveyard,  full  of  huge 
mounds  from  three  to  five  feet  high,  without  special 
marking.  Each  family  knows  where  its  own  ancestors 
are  buried.  One  of  the  reasons  why  they  oppose  the 
building  of  railroads  through  their  country  is  their  rev- 
erence for  these  burial  piles. 

One  of  the  very  best  missionary  establishments  that 
I know  anything  about  is  the  hospital  in  Shanghai.  The 
institution  is  full  to  overflowing  and  the  amount  of  good 


IN  SHANGHAI 


49 


that  the  nurses  do  there  is  beyond  human  measure.  I 
heard  pathetic  stories  almost  beyond  belief  ; I hope  that 
the  grand  workers  in  that  field  are  supplied  with  all  they 
need  in  the  way  of  money. 

Servants  seldom  remain  at  night  in  the  house  of  their 
employers  or  partake  of  the  food  that  is  prepared  for  the 
household.  The  rich  enjoy  pleasure  trips  on  the  house- 
boats ; they  take  their  servants,  horses,  and  carriages 
with  them,  and  leaving  the  river  at  pleasure  they  journey 
up  through  the  country  to  the  inland  towns.  One  cannot 
understand  how  the  poor  exist  as  they  do  on  their  house- 
boats. Of  course,  those  hired  by  the  Americans  and  Eng- 
lish are  well  appointed,  but  a large  proportion  of  the 
inhabitants  are  born,  live,  and  die  on  these  junks  which 
do  not  seem  large  enough  to  hold  even  two  people  and 
yet  multitudes  live  on  them  in  squalor  and  misery.  I 
have  a great  respect  for  the  determination  of  Chinese 
children  to  get  an  education.  It  is  truly  wonderful  that 
with  more  than  fifty  thousand  characters  to  learn,  they 
ever  acquire  any  knowledge.  Some  of  the  scholars  study 
diligently  all  their  lives,  trying  to  the  last  to  win  prizes. 


HONG  KONG  TO  MANILA.. 


CHAPTER  SEVEN. 

ROM  Hong  Kong  to  Manila  we  were  for- 
tunate in  being  upon  an  Australian  steamer 
which  was  very  comfortable,  indeed,  with 
Japanese  for  sailors  and  attendants.  At  last 
I was  in  the  tropics  and  felt  for  the  first 
time  what  tropical  heat  can  be  ; the  sun  poured  down 
floods  of  intolerable  heat.  The  first  feeling  is  that  one 
can  not  endure  it ; one  gasps  like  a fish  out  of  water  and 
vows  with  laboring  breath,  “I’ll  take  the  next  steamer 
home,  oh,  home  ! ” It  took  four  days  to  reach  Manila. 
The  bay  is  a broad  expanse  of  water,  a sea  in  itself.  The 
city  is  a magnificent  sight,  its  white  houses  with  Spanish 
tiled  roofs,  its  waving  palms,  its  gentle  slopes  rising 
gradually  to  the  mountains  in  the  back  ground. 

The  waters  swarmed  with  craft  of  every  fashion  and 
every  country.  How  beautiful  they  looked,  our  own 
great  warships  and  transports  ! No  large  ship  can  draw 
nearer  to  shore  than  two  or  three  miles.  All  our  army 
supplies  must  be  transferred  by  the  native  boats  to  the 
quartermaster's  department,  there  to  be  sorted  for  distri- 
GO) 


NATIVE  LADY. 


HONG  KONG  TO  MANILA 


51 


bution  to  the  islands  where  the  troops  are  stationed.  This 
necessitates  the  reloading  of  stores  on  the  boats,  to  be 
transferred  again  to  medium  sized  vessels  to  complete 
their  journey.  A volunteer  quartermaster  told  me,  that, 
on  an  average,  every  seventh  box  was  wdiolly  empty  and 
the  contents  of  the  other  six  were  rarely  intact.  The 
lost  goods  sometimes  reappeared  on  native  heads  or  backs. 
Coal  oil  was  in  demand,  and  disappeared  with  amazing 
celerity  ; it  is  far  better  for  lights  than  cocoanut  oil. 

Custom  house  inspection  being  quickly  over,  we 
landed.  The  beauty  of  the  distant  view  was  instantly 
dispelled ; one  glance  and  there  was  a wild  desire  to  take 
those  dirty,  almost  nude  creatures  in  hand  and,  holding 
them  at  arm’s  length,  dip  them  into  some  cleansing  cal- 
dron. ’ The  sanitary  efforts  of  our  army  are  effecting 
changes  beyond  praise  both  in  the  people  and  their  sur- 
roundings. 

r 

A little  two  wheeled  quielas  (ke-las)  drawn  by  a very 
diminutive  horse  took  me  to  the  Hotel  Oriente,  since 
turned  into  a government  office.  I noticed  that  the  floors 
were  washed  in  kerosene  to  check  the  vermin  that  else 
would  carry  everything  off  bodily.  The  hotel  was  so 
crowded  that  I was  obliged  to  occupy  a room  with  a 
frjend,  which  was  no  hardship  as  I had  already  had  sev- 
eral shocks  from  new  experiences.  We  had  no  sooner 
sat  down  to  talk  matters  over  than  I started  up  nervously 
at  queer  squeaks.  My  friend  remarked,  “Nevermind, 
you  will  soon  get  used  to  them,  they  are  only  lizards 
most  harmless,  and  most  necessary  in  this  country.” 
The  beds  in  our  room  were  four  high  posters  with  a 


52 


AN  OHIO  WOMAN  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 


cane  seat  for  the  mattress,  a small  bamboo  mat,  one  sheet, 
and  one  pillow  stuffed  with  raw  cotton  and  very  hard. 
As  we  were  tucked  in  our  little  narrow  beds  mosquito 
netting  was  carefully  drawn  about  us.  “ Neatly  laid  out,” 
said  one.  “All  ready  for  the  morgue,”  responded  the 
other. 

The  next  morning  we  watched  with  interest  the  cari- 
bou as  they  were  taken  from  the  muddy  pools  in  which 
they  had  found  shelter  for  the  night.  The  natives  begin 
work  at  dawn  and  rest  two  or  three  hours  in  the  middle 
of  the  day.  It  seemed  to  me  too  hot  for  any  man  or  beast 
to  stir. 

- When  a large  drove  of  caribou  are  massed  together 
it  seems  inevitable  that  they  shall  injure  each  other  with 
their  great  horns,  six  or  eight  feet  long  but  fortunately 
they  are  curved  back.  Strange,  too,  I thought  it,  that 
these  large  animals  should  be  driven  by  small  children — 
my  small  children  were  really  sixteen  to  twenty  years 
old. 

We  ventured  forth  upon  this  first  morning  and  found 
a large  cathedral  close  by.  It  was  all  we  could  do  to 
push  our  way  through  the  throng  of  half -naked  creatures 
that  were  squatting  in  front  of  the  church  to  sell  flowers, 
fruits,  cakes,  beads,  and  other  small  wares. 

We  pressed  on  through  crooked  streets  out  toward  the 
principal  shopping  district,  but  soon  found  it  impossible 
to  go  even  that  short  distance  without  a carriage,  the 
heat  was  so  overpowering.  We  turned  to  the  old  city, 
Manila  proper,  passed  over  the  drawbridge,  and  under 
the  arch  of  its  inclosing  wall,  centuries  old. 


HONG  KONG  TO  MANILA 


53 


We  went  to  the  quartermaster’s  department  to  get 
transportation  to  Iloilo.  It  gave  a delightful  feeling  of 
protection  to  see  our  soldiers  in  and  about  everywhere. 
At  this  time  Judge  William  H.  Taft  had  not  been  made 
governor  ; the  city  was  still  under  military  rule,  and 
there  were  constant  outbreaks,  little  insurrections  at 
many  points,  especially  in  the  suburbs.  We  were  sur- 
prised to  find  the  city  so  large  and  so  densely  populated. 

It  is  useless  to  deny  that  wre  were  in  constant  fear 
even  when  there  were  soldiers  by.  The  unsettled  condi- 
tions gave  us  a creepy  feeling  that  expressed  itself  in  the 
anxious  faces  and  broken  words  of  our  American  women. 
One  would  say,  “Oh  I feel  just  like  a fool,  I am  so 
scared.”  Another  would  say,  “Dear  me,  don’t  I wish 
I were  at  home,” — another,  “I  just  wish  I could  get 
under  some  bed  and  hide.”  But  for  all  their  fears  they 
stayed,  yielding  only  so  far  as  to  take  a short  vacation 
in  Japan.  There  is  not  much  in  the  way  of  sight  seeing  in 
Manila  beyond  the  enormous  cathedrals  many  of  which 
were  closed.  About  five  o’clock  in  the  afternoon  every- 
bod}^  goes  to  the  luneta  to  take  a drive  on  the  beach, 
hear  the  bands  play,  and  watch  the  crowds.  It  is  a 

r 

smooth  beach  for  about  two  miles.  Here  are  the  elite  of 
Manila.  The  friars  and  priests  saunter  along,  some  in 
long  white  many-overlapping  capes,  and  some  in  gowns. 
Rich  and  poor,  clean  and  filthy,  gay  and  wretched,  gather 
here  and  stay  until  about  half-past  six,  when  it  is  dark. 
The  rich  Filipinos  dine  at  eight. 

The  social  life  in  Manila,  as  one  might  suppose,  was 
somewhat  restricted  for  Americans.  The  weather  is  so 


54  AN  OHIO  WOMAN  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

enervating  that  it  is  impossible  to  get  up  very  much  en- 
thusiasm over  entertainments.  During  my  stay  in  Ma- 
nila, in  all,  perhaps  two  months,  there  was  little  in  the 
way  of  social  festivity  except  an  occasional  ball  in  the 
halls  of  the  Hotel  Oriente,  nor  did  the  officers  who  had 
families  there  have  accommodations  for  much  beyond  an 
occasional  exchange  of  dinners  and  lunches. 

The  Americans,  as  a rule,  did  not  take  kindly  to  either 
entertaining  or  being  entertained  by  natives,  and  besides 
they  could  not  endure  the  heavy,  late  dinners  and  banquets. 

At  one  grand  F ilipino  ball  (bailie)  an  eight  or  ten  course 
dinner  was  served  about  midnight.  The  men  and  women 
did  not  sit  down  together  at  this  banquet,  the  older  men 
ate  at  the  first  table,  then  the  older  women,  then  the 
young  men,  lastly  the  young  women.  After  the  feast 
there  were  two  or  three  slow  waltzes  carried  on  in  most 
solemn  manner,  and  then  came  the  huge  task  of  waking 
up  the  cocheroes  (drivers)  to  go  home.  While  every- 
thing was  done  in  a quick  way  according  to  a Filipino’s 
ideas,  it  took  an  hour  or  two  to  get  read}'.  The  only 
thing  that  does  make  a lot  of  noise  and  confusion  is  the 
quarreling  of  Filipino  horses  that  are  tethered  near  each 
other.  I thought  American  horses  could  fight  and  kick, 
but  these  little  animals  stand  on  their  hind  legs  and  fight 
and  strike  with  their  fore  feet  in  a way  that  is  alarming 
and  amusing.  They  are  beset  day  and  night  with  plagues 
of  insects.  No  wonder  they  are  restless. 

The  Bilibeb  Prison  in  Manila  is  the  largest  in  the 
Philippines,  and  contains  the  most  prisoners.  The  time 
to  see  the  convicts  and  men  is  at  night  when  they  are  on 


HONG  KONG  TO  MANILA 


55 


dress  parade.  Of  the  several  hundred  that  I saw,  I do 
not  think  that  anyone  of  them  is  in  there  for  other  than 
just  cause.  They  are  made  to  work  and  some  of  them 
are  very  artistic  and  do  most  beautiful  carvings  on  wood, 
bamboo  and  leather.  It  is  very  hard  now  to  get  any 
order  filled,  so  great  a demand  has  been  created  for  their 
handi-work.  I could  not  but  notice  the  manner  of  the 
on-lookers  as  they  came  each  day  to  see  those  poor 
wretches.  They  seemed  to  have  no  pity;  and  then,  there 
were  very  few  women  who  were  prisoners.  I do  not  re- 
member seeing  more  than  three  or  four  in  each  of  the  five 
prisons  that  I visited.  Orders  were  taken  for  the  fancy 
articles  made  in  these  prisons.  One  warden  said  he  had 
orders  for  several  months’  work  ahead. 


ILOILO  AND  JARO. 


CHAPTER  EIGHT. 


E WENT  from  Manila  to  Iloilo  on  a Spanish 
steamer.  I gave  one  look  at  the  stateroom 
that  was  assigned  to  me  and  decided  to  sleep 
on  deck  in  my  steamer  chair.  I had  been 
told  that  I positively  could  not  eat  the  food 
which  the  ship  would  prepare,  so  I took  a goodly  supply 
with  me.  w 

The  captain  was  so  gracious  that  I could  not  let  him 
know  my  plans,  so  I pleaded  illness  but  he  ordered  some 
things  brought  to  me.  There  was  a well  prepared  chick- 
en with  plenty  of  rice  but  made  so  hot  with  pepper  that 
I threw  it  into  the  sea ; next,  some  sort  of  salad  floating 
in  oil  and  smelling  of  garlic,  it  went  overboard.  Eggs 
cooked  in  oil  followed  the  salad;  last  the  “dulce,”  a 
composition  of  rice  and  custard  perfumed  with  anise  seed 
oil,  made  the  menu  of  the  fishes  complete.  I now  gladly 
opened  my  box  of  crackers  and  cheese,  oranges,  figs  and 
dates. 

As  the  sun  declined,  I sat  watching  the  islands.  We 

wrere  passing  by  what  is  known  as  the  inner  course.  They 

(56) 


ILOILO  AND  JARO 


57 


lay  fair  and  fragrant  as  so  many  Edens  afloat  upon  a 
body  of  water  as  beautiful  as  any  that  mortal  eyes  have 
ever  seen.  Huge  palms  rose  high  in  air,  their  long  feath- 
ery leaves  swaying  softly  in  the  golden  light.  Darkness 
fell  like  a curtain  ; but  the  waters  now  gleamed  like  nether 
heavens  with  their  own  stars  of  phosphorescent  lght. 

On  the  voyage  to  Japan,  a fellow  passenger  asked  if 
I were  sure  that  Iloilo  was  my  destination  in  the  Philip- 
pines and,  being  assured  that  it  was,  informed  me  that 
there  was  no  such  place  on  the  ship’s  maps,  which  were 
considered  very  accurate.  The  Island  of  Panay  was 
there,  but  no  town  of  Iloilo. 

r r 

Iloilo  (e-lo-e-lo)  is  the  second  city  in  size  of  the 
Philippines.  It  stands  on  a peninsula  and  has  a good 
harbor  if  it  were  not  for  the  shifting  sands  that  make  it 
rather  difficult  for  the  large  steamers  to  come  to  the 
wharf  and  the  tide  running  very  high  at  times  makes  it 
harder  still.  There  is  a long  wharf  bordered  with  huge 
warehouses  full  of  exports  and  imports.  Vast  quantities 
of  sugar,  hemp  and  tobacco  are  gathered  here  for  ship- 
ment. It  is  a center  of  exchange,  a place  of  large  busi- 
ness, especially  active  during  the  first  years  of  our 
occupation. 

Immense  caravan  trains  go  out  from  here  to  the  vari- 
ous army  posts  to  carry  food  and  other  supplies,  while  ships, 
like  farm  yards  adrift,  ply  on  the  same  errand  between 
port  and  port.  Cebu  and  Negros  are  the  largest  receiv- 
ing stations. 

In  the  center  of  the  town  is  the  plaza  or  park.  Here, 
after  getting  things  in  order,  a pole  was  set,  and  the  stars 


58  AN  OHIO  WOMAN  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

and  stripes  unfurled  to  the  breeze.  The  quarters  of  our 
soldiers  were  near  the  park  and  so  our  boys  had  a pleas- 
ant place  to  lounge  when  off  duty  in  the  early  morning 
or  evening.  When  our  troops  first  landed  here  in  1898 
there  was  quite  a battle,  but  I am  not  able  to  give  its 
details.  The  results  are  obvious  enough.  The  native 
army  set  fire  to  the  city  before  fleeing  across  the  river  to 

r 

the  town  of  Jaro  (Har-ro).  The  frame  work  of  the  upper 
part  of  the  buildings  was  burned  but  the  walls  or  lower 
part  remains. 

After  the  battle  at  Jaro,  I went  out  to  live  for  awhile 
in  the  quarters  of  Captain  Walter  H.  Gordon,  Lieuten- 
ant J.  Barnes,  and  Lieutenant  A.  L.  Conger,  18th  U.  S. 
A.  I soon  realized  that  the  war  was  still  on,  for  every 
day  and  night,  the  rattle  of  musketry  told  that  some- 
where there  was  trouble. 

One  day  I went  out  to  see  the  fortifications  deserted 
by  the  Filipinos.  They  were  curious  indeed ; built  as 
an  officer  suggested,  to  be  run  aivay  from,  not  to  be 
defended.  One  fortification  was  ingeniously  made  of 
sacks  of  sugar.  Everywhere  w7as  devastation  and  waste 
and  burned  buildings.  The  natives  had  fled  to  distant 
towns  or  mountains. 

All  this  sounds  bad  and  looked  worse,  and  yet  it  takes 
but  a little  while  to  restore  all.  The  houses  are  quickly 
rebuilt ; a bamboo  roof  is  made,  it  is  lifted  to  the  desired 
height  on  poles  set  in  or  upon  the  ground.  The  walls  are 
•weavings  of  bamboo  or  are  plaited  nepa.  The  nepa 
is  a variety  of  bamboo  grown  near  shallow  sea  water. 
When  one  of  these  rude  dwellings  is  completed,  it  is 


TOWN  OF  MOLO,  ISLAND  OF  PANAY. 


ILOILO  AND  JARO 


59 


ready  for  an  ordinary  family.  They  do  not  use  a single 
article  that  we  consider  essential  to  housekeeping.  Some 
of  the  better  class  have  a kind  of  stove  ; its  top  is  covered 
with  a layer  of  sand  or  small  pebbles,  four  or  five  inches 
thick  ; on  this  stand  bricks  or  small  tripods  to  hold  the 
little  pots  used  in  cooking.  Under  each  pot  is  a tiny 
fire.  The  skillful  cook  plays  upon  his  several  fires  as  a 
musician  upon  his  keys,  adding  a morsel  of  fuel  to  one, 
drawing  a coal  from  another ; stirring  all  the  concoctions 
with  the  same  spoon.  The  baking  differs  only  in  there 
being  an  upper  story  of  coals  on  the  lid.  *- 

It  has  been  said  that  fools  rush  in  where  angels  fear 
to  tread.  Two  or  three  of  us  American  women,  eager 
to  learn  all  we  could,  because  we  were  daily  told  that  the 
war  was  over  and  we  should  soon  be  going  home,  were 
rashly  venturesome.  But  we  soon  found  that  it  was  unsafe 
to  go  about  Molo  or  Iloilo  even  with  a guide,  and  so  we  had 
to  content  ourselves  with  looking  at  the  quantities  of 
beautiful  things  brought  to  our  door.  We  were  tempted 
daily  to  buy  the  lovely  fabrics  woven  by  the  native  women. 
Every  incoming  ship  is  beset  by  a swarm  of  small  traders 
who  find  their  best  customers  amongst  American  women. 
Officers  and  men,  too,  are  generous  buyers  for  friends  at 
home.  The  native  weaves  of  every  quality  and  color 
are  surprisingly  beautiful. 

r ' ~ 

Jusa  (hoo-sa)  cloth  is  made  from  jusi  fibre;  pina 
(peen-yah)  from  pineapple  fibre  ; cinemi  is  a mixture  of 
the  two  ; abaka  (a-ba-ka)  from  hemp  fibre  ; algodon  from 
the  native  cotton  ; sada  is  silk  ; sabana  is  a mixture  of 
cotton  and  hemp. 


6o 


AN  OHIO  WOMAN  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 


We  visited  many  of  the  places  where  the  most  exten- 
sive weaving  is  done,  and  there  we  saw  the  most  wretched- 
looking,  old  women  handling  the  hair-like  threads.  Each 
one  had  by  her  side  some  emblem  of  the  Roman  Church 
as  she  sat  at  her  daily  task.  These  poor,  dirty,  mis- 
shapen creatures,  weaving  from  daylight  to  dark,  earn 
about  fifty  cents  a month.  So  many  of  the  women  are 
deformed  and  unclean,  both  the  makers  and  the  sellers, 
that  it  seemed  utterly  incongruous  that  they  should  handle 
the  most  delicate  materials.  In  all  my  observations,  I 
saw  but  one  nice,  clean  woman  of  the  lower  classes.  In 
our  happy  country  we  do  not  think  of  seeing  a whole  class 
of  people  diseased  or  maimed.  In  the  Philippines  one 
seldom  sees  a well  formed  person  ; or  if  the  form  is  good, 
the  face  is  disfigured  by  small-pox. 

I was  surprised,  at  first,  on  looking  out  after  break- 
fast, to  find  at  my  door  every  morning  from  two  to  a 
dozen  women  and  boys  in  sitting  posture,  almost  nude, 
only  a thin  waist  on  the  body,  and  a piece  of  cotton  drawn 
tightly  round  the  legs.  Many  would  be  solemnly  and 
industriously  chewing  the  betel  nut,  which  colors  lips 
and  saliva  a vivid  red. 

It  would  not  only  be  impertinent  on  my  part  to  relate 
particulars  of  our  arm}',  but  I should  undoubtedly  do  as 
Mrs.  Partington  did — “open  my  patrician  mouth  and  put 
my  plebeian  foot  in  it.’’  The  first  thing  I did  on  arriv- 
ing at  Iloilo  was  to  call  mess  “board”  and  go  to  bed 
instead  of  “turning  in.” 

In  time  of  special  danger,  the  various  commanders 
were  very  kind  in  providing  guards — mostly,  however,  to 


ILOILO  AND  JARO 


6l 


protect  Government  property.  I felt  no  great  uneasiness 
about  personal  safety,  though  I always  ‘ ‘ slept  with  one 
eye  open.”  We  were  so  frequently  threatened  that  we 
stood  ready  every  moment  to  move  on.  Shots  during  the 
night  are  not,  as  a rule,  conducive  to  sleep,  and  I did 
not  like  the  sound  of  the  balls  as  they  struck  the  house. 
I had  my  plans  laid  to  get  behind  the  stone  wall  at  the 
rear  of  the  passage  and  lie  on  the  floor.  It  was  necessary 
to  keep  a close  watch  on  the  servants  who  were  ‘ ‘ muchee 
hard  luc  ” (very  much  afraid)  at  the  slightest  change  in 
the  movements  of  either  army,  home  or  foreign. 

Their  system  of  wireless  telegraphy  was  most  efficient, 
so  much  so  that  one  day  at  2 p.  11.  I was  told  by  a native 
of  an  engagement  that  had  taken  place  at  10  A.  m.  in  a 
distant  part  of  the  island,  remote  from  the  telegraph 
stations.  I wondered  how  he  could  have  known,  and 
later  learned  of  their  systems  of  signaling  by  kites.  For 
night  messages  the  kites  are  illuminated.  They  are 
expert,  not  only  in  flying,  but  in  making  them. 

Their  schools  are  like  pandemonium  let  loose  ; all  the 
pupils  studying  aloud  together,  making  a deafening,  rasp- 
ing noise.  Sessions  from  7 to  10  A.  m.,  3 to  6 p.  m. 

The  large  Mexican  dollars  are  too  cumbersome  to 
carry  in  any  ordinary  purse.  If  one  wishes  to  draw  even 
a moderate  sum,  it  is  necessary  to  take  a cart  or  carriage. 
A good  sized  garden  shovel  on  one  side  and  a big  canvas 
bag  on  the  other  expedites  bank  transactions  in  the 
islands. 

At  the  time  of  the  evacuation  of  Jaro  by  the  insurrec- 
tos,  our  officers  chose  their  quarters  from  the  houses  the 


6 2 


AN  OHIO  WOMAN  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 


natives  had  fled  from.  The  house  which  we  occupied 
had  formerly  been  used  as  the  Portuguese  Consulate. 
Like  all  the  better  houses  the  lower  part  was  built  of 
stone,  and  the  upper  part  of  boards.  There  was  very 
little  need  of  heavy  boards  or  timbers  except  to  hold  the 
sliding  windows.  I should  think  the  whole  house  was 
about  eighty  feet  square  with  rear  porch  that  was  used 
for  a summer  garden.  The  pillars  of  this  porch  were 
things  of  real  beauty.  They  were  covered  with  orchids 
that  in  the  hottest  wreather  were  all  dried  up  and  quite 
unsightly,  but  when  the  rainy  season  began  they  were 
very  beautiful  in  their  luxuriance  of  growth  and  bloom. 
The  front  door  was  in  three  parts  ; the  great  double  doors 
which  opened  outwrard  to  admit  carriages  and  a small 
door  in  one  of  the  larger  doors.  There  was  a huge 
knocker,  the  upper  part  wras  a woman’s  head.  To  open 
the  large  doors  it  wras  necessary  to  pull  the  latch  by  a 
cord  that  came  up  through  the  floor  to  one  of  the  inner 
rooms.  I used  to  occupy  this  room  at  night  and  it  was 
my  office  and  my  pleasure  to  pull  the  bobbin  and  let  the 
latch  fly  up  when  the  scouting  troop  wTould  come  in  late 
at  night.  Captain  Gordon  said  that  he  never  found  me 
napping,  that  I was  always  ready  to  greet  them  as  soon 
as  their  horses  turned  the  corner  tw7o  squares  away.  The 
entrance  door  admitted  to  a great  hall  w'ith  a stone  floor, 
ending  in  apartments  for  the  horses.  On  the  right  of  the 
hall  were  rooms  for  domestic  purposes,  such  as  for  the 
family  looms,  four  or  five  of  them,  and  for  stores  of  food 
and  goods.  On  the  left  there  were  four  steps  up  and 
then  a platform,  then  three  steps  down  into  a room  about 


ILOILO  AND  JARO 


63 


twenty  feet  square.  There  were  two  windows  in  this 
room  with  heavy  gratings.  We  used  it  as  a store  room 
for  the  medical  supplies.  Returning  to  the  platform, 
there  were  two  heavy  doors  that  swung  in,  we  kept  them 
bolted  with  heavy  wooden  bolts  ; there  were  no  locks  on 
any  doors.  At  the  foot  of  the  steps  was  a long  narrow 
room  with  one  small  window  ; it  was  directly  over  the 
part  where  the  animals  were.  The  hall  was  lighted  with 
quite  a handsome  Venetian  glass  chandelier  in  which  we 
used  candles.  From  this  room  we  entered  the  large  main 
room  of  the  house ; the  ceiling  and  side  wall  was  covered 
with  leather  or  oil  cloth  held  in  place  with  large  tacks  ; 
there  were  sliding  windows  on  two  sides  of  the  room 
which,  when  shoved  back,  opened  the  room  so  completely 
as  to  give  the  effect  of  being  out  of  doors ; the  front  win- 
dows looked  out  on  the  street,  the  side  windows  on  the 
garden,  on  many  trees,  cocoanut,  chico,  bamboo,  and 
palm.  There  was  a large  summer  house  in  the  center 
of  the  garden  and  the  paths  wdiich  led  up  to  it  were  bor- 
dered with  empty  beer  bottles.  The  garden  was  enclosed 
by  a plastered  wall  about  eight  feet  high,  into  the  top  of 
which  were  inserted  broken  bottles  and  sharp  irons  to 
keep  out  intruders.  The  house  was  covered  with  a sheet 
iron  roof.  The  few  dishes  that  we  found  upon  our  occu- 
pation were  of  excellent  china  but  the  three  or  four  side- 
boards were  quite  inferior.  The  whole  house  was  wired 
for  bells.  This  is  true  of  many  of  the  houses,  indeed 
they  are  all  fashioned  on  one  model,  and  all  plain  in 
finish,  extra  carving  or  fine  wood-work  would  only  make 
more  work  for  the  busy  little  ants.  Even  when  furni- 


64  an  OHIO  WOMAN  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

ture  looked  whole,  we  often  found  ourselves  landed  on 
the  floor  ; it  was  no  uncommon  thing  for  a chair  to  give 
way  ; it  had  been  honeycombed  and  was  held  together  by 
the  varnish  alone. 

My  first  evening  in  Jaro  was  one  of  great  fear.  We 
were  told  by  a priest  that  wre  were  to  be  attacked  and 
burned  out.  While  sitting  at  dinner  I heard  just  behind 
me  a fearful  noise  that  sounded  like  “Gluck-co-gluck-co.” 
An  American  officer  told  me  it  was  an  alarm  clock,  but 
as  a matter  of  fact  it  was  an  immense  lizard,  an  animal 
for  which  I soon  lost  all  antipathy,  because  of  its  appetite 
for  the  numerous  bugs  that  infest  the  islands.  Unfor- 
tunately they  have  no  taste  for  the  roaches,  the  finger- 
long  roaches  that  crawl  all  over  the  floor.  Neither  were 
they  of  assistance  in  exterminating  the  huge  rats  and 
mice,  nor  the  ants.  The  ants  ! It  is  impossible  to  describe 
how  these  miserable  pests  overran  everything ; they  wrere 
on  the  beds,  they  were  on  the  tables.  Our  table  legs 
were  set  in  cups  of  coal  oil  and  our  floors  were  washed 
with  coal  oil  at  least  once  every  week.  This  disagreeable 
condition  of  things  will  not  be  wondered  at,  when  I say 
that  the  horses,  cattle,  and  caribou  are  kept  in  the  lower 
part  of  the  house,  and  the  pigs,  cats,  and  dogs  allowed 
up  stairs  with  the  family.  The  servants  are  required  to 
stay  below  with  the  cattle. 

The  animals  are  all  diseased,  especially  the  horses. 
Our  men  were  careful  that  their  horses  were  kept  far  from 
the  native  beasts.  The  cats  are  utterly  inferior.  The 
mongoose,  a little  animal  between  a ferret  and  a rat,  is 
very  useful ; no  well-kept  house  is  without  one.  Rats 


ILOIL.O  AND  JARO 


65 


swarm  in  such  vast  hordes  that  the  mongoose  is  absolutely 
necessary  to  keep  them  down.  Still  more  necessary  is  the 
house  snake.  These  reptiles  are  brought  to  market  on  a 
bamboo  pole  and  usually  sell  for  about  one  dollar  apiece. 
Mine  used  to  make  great  havoc  among  the  rats  up  in  the 
attic.  Never  before  had  I known  what  rats  were.  Every 
night,  notwithstanding  the  mongoose,  the  house  snake, 
and  the  traps,  I used  to  lay  in  a supply  of  bricks,  any- 
thing to  throw  at  them  when  they  would  congregate  in 
my  room  and  have  a pitched  battle.  They  seemed  to 
stand  in  awe  of  United  States  officers.  A soldier  said  one 
night,  glancing  about,  “Why,  I thought  the  rats  moved 
out  all  of  your  furniture.’  ’ They  would  often  carry  things 
up  to  the  zinc  roof  of  our  quarters,  drop  them,  and  then 
take  after  with  rush  and  clatter,  the  snake  in  full  chase. 
Mice  abound,  and  lizards  are  everywhere,  of  every  shape, 
every  size,  and  every  color. 

I spent  a large  part  of  my  time  leaning  out  of  my  win- 
dow ; there  was  so  much  to  see.  The  expulsion  of  the 
insurrectos  had  just  been  effected,  and  very  few  of  the 
natives  remained,  but  as  soon  as  they  were  thoroughly 
convinced  that  our  troops  had  actually  taken  the  town, 
they  flocked  in  by  the  hundreds,  the  men  nearly  naked, 
always  barefoot,  the  women  in  their  characteristic  bright 
red  skirts. 

The  entire  time  spent  there  was  full  of  surprises,  the 
customs,  dress,  food,  and  religious  ceremonies  continually 
furnishing  matter  of  intense  and  varied  interest.  I 
noticed,  especially,  how  little  the  men  and  women  went 
about  together,  riding  or  walking,  or  to  church.  Neither 


66 


AN  OHIO  WOMAN  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 


do  they  sit  together,  or  rather  should  say  “squat,”  for, 
even  in  the  fine  churches,  the  women  squatted  in  the 
center  aisles,  while  the  men  were  ranged  in  side  aisles. 
There  are  few  pews,  and  these  few,  rarely  occupied,  were 
straight  and  uncomfortable.  No  effort  was  ever  made  to 
make  them  comfortable,  not  to  mention  ornamental. 


THE  NATIVES. 


CHAPTER  NINE. 


HE  natives  are,  as  a rule,  small,  with  a yellow- 
ish brown  skin ; noses  not  large,  lips  not 
thick,  but  teeth  very  poor.  Many  of  them 
have  cleft  palate  or  harelip,  straight  hair 
very  black,  and  heads  rather  flattened  on  top. 
I examined  man}’  skulls  and  found  the  occiput  and  first 
cervical  ankylosed.  It  occurred  to  me  it  might  be  on 
account  of  the  burdens  they  carry  upon  their  heads  in 
order  to  leave  their  arms  free  to  carry  a child  on  the  hips, 
to  tuck  in  a skirt,  or  care  for  the  cigars. 

The  Filipino  skirt  is  a wonder.  It  is  made  by  sewing 
together  the  ends  of  a straight  piece  of  cloth  about  three 
yards  long.  To  hold  it  in  place  on  the  body,  a plait  is 
laid  in  the  top  edge  at  the  right,  and  a tuck  at  the  left, 
and  there  it  stays — till  it  loosens.  One  often  sees  them 
stop  to  give  the  right  or  left  a twist.  The  fullness  in  the 
front  is  absolutely  essential  for  them  to  squat  as  they  are 
so  accustomed  to  do  while  performing  all  sorts  of  work, 
such  as  washing,  ironing,  or,  in  the  market  place,  selling 

all  conceivable  kinds  of  wares.  The  waist  for  the  rich 

(67)  ■ 


68 


AN  OHIO  WOMAN  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 


and  poor  alike  is  of  one  pattern,  the  only  variation  being 
in  the  quality.  It  has  a plain  piece  loose  at  the  waist  line 
for  the  body,  a round  hole  for  the  rather  low  neck,  the 
sleeves  straight  and  extending  to  the  wrist,  about  three- 
fourths  of  a yard  wide.  These  sleeves  are  gathered  on 
the  shoulder  to  fit  the  individual.  A square  handkerchief 
folded  three  times  in  the  center  is  placed  round  the  neck 
and  completes  the  costume.  As  fast  as  riches  are  amassed, 
trains  are  assumed.  All  clothing  is  starched  with  rice 
and  stands  out  rigidly. 

The  materials  are  largely  woven  by  the  people  them- 
selves, and  the  finer  fabrics  are  beautiful  in  texture  and 
fineness,  some  of  the  strands  being  so  fine  that  several  are 
used  to  make  one  thread.  By  weaving  one  whole  day 
from  dawn  to  dark,  only  a quarter  of  a yard  of  material 
is  produced.  The  looms,  the  cost  of  which  is  about  fifty 
cents,  are  all  made  by  hand  from  bamboo  ; the  reels  and 
bobbins,  which  complete  the  outfit,  raise  the  value  of  the 
whole  to  about  a dollar.  There  is  rarely  a house  that  does 
not  keep  from  one  to  a dozen  looms.  The  jusi,  made 
from  the  jusi  that  comes  in  the  thread  from  China,  is 
colored  to  suit  the  fancy  of  the  individual,  but  is  not  ex- 
tensively used  by  the  natives,  who  usually  prefer  the 
abuka,  pina,  or  sinamay,  which  are  products  of  the  abuka 
tree,  or  pineapple  fibre.  The  quality  of  these  depends  on 
the  fineness  of  the  threads.  It  is  very  delicate,  yet  dura- 
ble, and — what  is  most  essential — can  be  washed.  -* 

The  common  natives  seem  to  have  no  fixed  hours  for 
their  meals,  nor  do  they  have  any  idea  of  gathering  around 
the  family  board.  After  they  began  to  use  knives  and 


THE  NATIVES 


69 


forks  one  woman  said  she  would  rather  not  use  her  knife, 
it  cut  her  mouth  so.  Even  the  best  of  them  prefer  to 
squat  on  the  floor,  make  a little  round  ball  of  half  cooked 
rice  with  the  tips  of  their  fingers  and  throw  it  into  the 
mouth. 

My  next  door  neighbor  was  considered  one  of  the  bet- 
ter class  of  citizens,  and  through  my  window  I could  not 
help,  in  the  two  years  of  my  stay,  seeing  much  of  the 
working  part  of  her  household.  There  were  pigs,  chickens, 
ducks,  and  turkeys,  either  running  freely  about  the 
kitchen  or  tied  by  the  leg  to  the  kitchen  stove.  The 
floors  of  these  kitchens  are  never  tight  ; they  allow  the 
greater  part  of  the  accumulated  filth  of  all  these  animals 
to  sift  through  to  the  ground  below.  There  were  about 
fifteen  in  the  family;  this  meant  fifteen  or  twenty  servants, 
but  as  there  are  few  so  poor  in  the  islands  as  to  be  unable 
to  command  a poorer  still,  these  chief  servants  had  a crowd 
of  underlings  responsible  to  themselves  alone.  The  head 
cook  had  a wife,  two  children  and  two  servants  that  got  into 
their  quarters  by  crawling  up  an  old  ladder.  I climbed 
up  one  day  to  see  how  much  space  they  had.  I put  my 
head  in  at  the  the  opening  that  served  them  for  door  and 
window,  but  could  not  get  my  shoulders  in.  The  whole 
garret  was  about  eight  feet  long  and  six  feet  wide.  One 
end  of  it  was  partitioned  off  for  their  fighting  cocks. 

All  the  time  I was  there  this  family  of  the  cook  occu- 
pied that  loft,  and  the  two  youngest  ones  squalled  night 
and  day,  one  or  other,  or  both  of  them.  There  was  not 
a single  thing  in  that  miserable  hole  for  those  naked  chil- 
dren to  lie  on  or  to  sit  on.  The  screams  or  the  wails  of 


7° 


AN  OHIO  WOMAN  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 


the  wretched  babies,  the  fighting  of  the  rats  under  foot, 
the  thud  of  the  bullets  at  one’s  head,  the  constant  fear 
of  being  burned  out, — these  things  are  not  conducive  to 
peaceful  slumbers,  but  to  frightful  dreams,  to  nightmare, 
to  hasty  wakenings  from  uneasy  sleep. 

As  soon  as  there  is  the  slightest  streak  of  dawn,  the 
natives  begin  to  work  and  clatter  and  chatter.  No  time 
is  lost  bathing  or  dressing.  They  wear  to  bed,  or  rather 
to  floor  or  mat,  the  little  that  they  have  worn  through 
the  day,  and  rise  and  go  to  work  next  day  without  change 
of  clothing.  It  never  occurs  to  them  to  wash  their  hands 
except  when  they  go  to  the  well,  once  a day  perhaps. 
While  at  the  well  they  will  pour  water  from  a cocoanut 
shell  held  above  the  head  and  let  it  run  down  over  the 
body,  never  using  soap  or  towels.  They  rub  their  bodies 
sometimes  with  a stone.  It  does  not  matter  which  way 
you  turn  you  see  hundreds  of  natives  at  their  toilet.  One 
does  not  mind  them  more  than  the  caribou  in  some  muddy 
pond,  and  one  is  just  about  as  cleanly  as  the  other.  They 
make  little  noise  going  to  and  fro,  all  being  barefoot;  but 
it  was  not  long  until  I learned  to  know  whether  there 
were  three,  fifty,  or  one  hundred  passing  by  the  swish  of 
their  bare  feet. 

The  fathers  seem  to  lavish  more  affection  on  the  chil- 
dren than  the  mothers,  and  no  wonder.  Even  President 
Roosevelt  would  be  satisfied  with  the  size  of  families  that 
vary  from  fifteen  to  thirty.  They  do  not  seem  to  make 
any  great  ado  if  one  or  more  die.  Such  little  bits  of 
humanity,  such  wasted  corpses  ; it  hardly  seems  that  the 
shrunken  form  could  ever  have  breathed,  it  looks  so  little 


THE  NATIVES 


71 


and  pinched  and  starved.  There  was  a pair  of  twins,  a 
boy  and  a girl,  which  were  said  to  be  twenty-five  years 
old,  that  were  the  most  hideous  looking  things  I ever 
saw.  They  were  two  feet  high,  with  huge  heads  out  of 
all  proportion  to  their  bodies.  They  used  to  go  about 
the  streets  begging  and  giving  concerts  to  get  money.  I 
understand  that  they  are  now  somewhere  in  America. 

I became  very  much  interested  in  a man  with  only  one 
leg.  I wanted  to  get  him  a wooden  mate  for  it,  but  he 
said  he  didn’t  want  it;  that  he  could  get  around  faster 
with  one  leg,  and  he  certainly  could  take  longer  leaps 
than  any  two  legged  creature.  Even  when  talking  he 
never  sat  down.  He  had  admirable  control  of  his  muscles. 
A little  above  the  average  height,  his  one  leggedness 
made  him  seem  over  six  feet. 

It  was  out  of  the  question  to  take  the  census  of  any  town 
or  province,  because  of  the  shifting  population.  It  is 
nothing  for  a family  to  move  many  times  in  the  course  of 
the  year  ; they  can  make  thirty  or  forty  miles  a day. 
They  have  absolutely  nothing  to  move  unless  it  might  be 
the  family  cooking  “ sowsow  ” pot,  which  is  hung  over 
the  shoulder  on  a string,  or  carried  on  top  of  the  head.  I 
used  often  to  see  a family  straggling  along  with  anywhere 
from  ten  to  twenty  children,  seemingly  all  of  a size,  going 
to  locate  at  some  other  place.  One  family  came  to  Jaro 
the  night  before  market  day.  They  had  about  six  dozen 
of  eggs.  I said  I would  buy  all  of  them  ; the  woman 
cried  and  said  she  was  sorry,  as  she  would  have  nothing  to 
sell  in  the  market  place  the  next  day.  At  night  the  whole 
family  cuddled  down  in  a corner  of  the  stable  and  slept. 


72  AN  OHIO  WOMAN  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

The  native  cook  we  employed  proved  to  be  a good  one, 
and  was  willing  to  learn  American  ways  of  cooking.  We 
did  not  know  he  had  a family.  One  morning  while  at- 
tending to  my  duties  there  appeared  a woman  about  five 
feet  tall,  with  one  shoulder  about  four  inches  higher  than 
the  other,  one  hip  dislocated,  one  eye  crossed,  a harelip, 
which  made  the  teeth  part  in  the  middle,  mouth  and  lips 
stained  blood  red  with  betel  juice,  clothes — a rag  or  two. 
I screamed  at  her  to  run  away,  which  she  did  instantly. 
I supposed  she  was  some  tramp  who  wanted  to  get  a look 
at  a white  woman.  She  proved  to  be  the  wife  of  our 
cook,  and  after  I had  become  accustomed  to  her  dreadful 
looks,  she  became  invaluable  to  me.  Hardly  anyone 
would  have  recognized  her  the  da}’  that  she  accompanied 
me  to  the  dock.  The  little  money  that  she  had  earned 
she  had  immediately  put  into  an  embroidered  waist  and 
long  black  satin  train  ; and  as  I bade  her  good-bye  she 
left  an  impression  quite  different  from  the  first,  and  I am 
sure  that  the  tears  she  shed  were  not  of  the  crocodile  kind. 

The  first  native,  Anastasio  Alingas,  whom  we  em- 
ployed proved  to  be  the  very  worst  we  could  have  found. 
He  not  only  stole  from  us  right  before  my  eyes,  but  right 
before  the  eyes  of  our  large  household.  He  took  the  cap- 
tain’s pistol,  holster,  and  ammunition.  We  could  not 
have  been  more  than  five  or  ten  feet  from  him  at  the  time, 
for  it  was  the  rule  then  to  have  our  fire-arms  handy. 

With  an  air  of  innocence,  child-like  and  bland,  he 
diverted  suspicion  to  our  laundry  man  and  allowed  him 
to  be  taken  to  prison.  It  was  only  after  being  arrested 
himself  that  he  confessed  and  restored  the  revolver.  He 


THE  NATIVES 


73 


was  allowed  to  go  on  the  promise  that  he  would  never 
come  any  nearer  than  twenty  miles  to  Jaro.  He  had  been 
systematically  lying  and  stealing.  He  used  to  come  with 
tears  streaming  down  his  face  and  say  that  some  man  had 
stolen  market  money  intrusted  to  him.  He  plundered 
the  store-room,  though  it  was  hard  to  tell  which  stole  the 
most,  he  or  the  wild  monkeys  that  were  about  the  house. 
He  had  pretended  to  be  eager  to  learn,  and  had  been  so 
tractable  that  we  were  greatly  disappointed  to  have  him 
turn  out  such  a bad  boy.  We  found  this  true  of  every  man 
that  we  tried,  and  most  strongly  true  of  the  ones  who 
pretended  to  be  the  best. 

All  the  servants,  all  the  natives,  prized  highly  our  tin 
cans  from  the  commissary,  as  we  emptied  them.  They 
used  to  come  miles  for  them.  Cocoanut  shells  and  hollow 
bamboo  stalks  are  the  common  vessels.  A few  old  cans 
furnished  a valuable  ten  cent  store.  The  variety  of  uses 
to  which  these  cans  were  turned  was  remarkable. 

None  of  the  so-called  better  class  work  at  anything. 
They  all  carry  huge  bundles  of  keys  at  their  side,  and  in 
most  stentorian  voice  call  out  many  times  during  the  day 
“ macliacha  ” to  a servant,  who  is  to  perform  some  very 
small  sendee  which  her  mistress  could  easily  have  done 
herself  without  any  effort,  and  these  lazy  machachas 
saunter  about  in  the  most  deliberate  manner  and  do  what- 
ever they  are  asked  to  do  in  the  most  ungracious  way. 
These  so-called  ladies  beat  their  servants.  I often  inter- 
fered by  pounding  with  a stick  on  the  side  of  my  window 
to  attract  their  attention  ; that  was  all  that  was  necessary. 
They  were  ashamed  to  have  me  see  them.  One  time  in 


74 


AN  OHIO  WOMAN  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 


particular,  a woman  took  a big  paddle,  such  as  they  use 
for  pounding  their  clothes,  and  hit  a small,  sick  looking 
creature  again  and  again  on  the  bare  shoulders.  What 
the  offense  was  I do  not  know,  but  certainly  the  beating 
was  such  as  I have  never  seen  administered  to  anything. 

The  servants  always  walk  about  three  feet  behind  the 
mistresses  and  carry  their  parcels,  but  they  seldom  walk, 
however,  for  they  ride  even  when  the  distance  is  short. 
The  grand  dames  affect  a great  deal  of  modesty  and  deli- 
cacy of  feeling.  On  a certain  occasion  they  sent  word  to 
the  commanding  general  that  it  would  be  a serious  shock 
to  their  feelings  to  have  the  execution  of  a criminal  take 
place  in  the  center  of  the  town.  The  gallows  were  erected 
in  the  suburbs.  Immediately  all  the  natives  were  set  to 
work  to  make  hiding  places  where  these  sensitive  ladies, 
unseen,  could  witness  the  execution.  From  early  dawn 
until  at  9 A.  m.  carriages  were  carrying  these  delicate 
creatures  to  their  secret  stations.  Not  one  of  them  in  the 
whole  village  of  Jaro  but  was  on  the  watch.  They  sup- 
posed, of  course,  that  I would  be  so  interested  that  I would 
take  a prominent  part  ; that  executions  were  common 
festivals  in  the  United  States. 

The  criminal  himself  had  no  idea  that  his  sentence 
would  be  enforced,  even  up  to  the  last  moment  he  took  it 
as  a huge  joke,  and  when  he  was  taken  to  the  general  said 
he  would  like  to  be  excused,  and  offered  to  implicate  others 
who  were  more  guilty  than  himself. 

Many  questions  were  asked  me  concerning  our  methods 
of  execution,  and  great  was  the  surprise  when  I confessed 
that  I had  never  seen  one  myself,  nor  did  I ever  expect 


PRESIDENTE  OF  AREVALO.  ISLAND  PANAY.  TROTTING  BULL  AND  QUIELAS. 


THE  NATIVES 


75 


to  see  one ; that  my  countrywomen  would  be  horrified  to 
witness  such  a sight ; and  that  on  the  present  occasion  I 
had  gone  to  the  adjoining  town  six  miles  away  to  escape 
it  all.  I was  shown  several  pictures  of  the  victim  taken 
by  a Chinese  artist. 

A man  buys  at  a booth  one  penny’s  worth  of  what  is 
known  as  ‘ ‘ sow-sow  ’ ’ for  himself  and  family.  I have 
often  looked  into  the  sow-sow  pots,  but  was  never  able  to 
make  out  what  was  contained  therein.  The  children  buy 
little  rice  cakes,  thin,  hard,  and  indigestible  as  bits  of  slate. 
The  children’s  stomachs  are  abnormally  large  ; due,  per- 
haps, to  the  half-cooked  rice  and  other  poorly  prepared 
food.  When  it  comes  to  the  choice  of  caring  for  the  child 
or  the  fighting  cock,  the  cock  has  the  preference  The 
bird  is  carried  as  fondly  and  as  carefully  as  if  it  were  a 
superior  creature.  It  was  strange  to  see  how  they  would 
carry  these  birds  on  their  palms  ; nor  did  they  attempt 
to  fly  away,  but  would  sit  there  and  crow  contentedly. 

We  had  at  one  time  five  or  six  carpenters  to  do  some 
bamboo  work.  They  brought  their  fighting  cocks  along 
with  them  for  amusement  when  they  were  not  at  work, 
which  was  every  moment  our  backs  were  turned.  They 
are  so  used  to  being  driven  that  it  never  occurs  to  them 
to  go  on  with  their  work  unless  someone  is  overseeing 
them.  They  began  by  putting  the  bamboo  at  the  top  of 
the  room  and  working  down,  braiding,  plaiting  and  split- 
ting, putting  in  a bit  here  and  there  in  a very  deft  way 
without  a nail.  They  did  all  the  cutting  sitting  down  on 
the  floor  and  holding  the  smooth  bamboo  pieces  with  their 
feet,  while  they  sawed  the  various  lengths  with  a bolo. 


76  AN  OHIO  WOMAN  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

When  they  had  completed  the  partition,  I said  to  the 
foreman,  “ How  much  for  the  day’s  work  for  all.”  The 
head  man  very  politely  informed  me  that  he  did  not  pro- 
pose to  pay  these  other  men  anything  ; if  I wanted  to  pay 
them  all  right,  but  he  would  not.  The  defrauded  ones 
got  down  on  their  knees  to  beg  for  their  pay.  I called  in 
a priest  who  could  talk  some  English,  and  explained  the 
situation  to  him.  He  told  me  frankly  that  I would  have 
to  pay  these  other  men  just  the  same,  notwithstanding 
that  I had  paid  the  foreman  the  full  amount.  He  said  I 
had  better  do  it,  because  if  I did  not  the  men  would  bring 
vengeance  upon  me.  The}"  have  no  idea  of  justice  or 
honor.  What  is  true  of  business  is  true  of  every  act  of 
theirs,  as  far  as  I know. 

An  American  woman  told  me  that  her  husband  could 
not  attend  to  his  military  duties  because  he  had  to  wTatch 
the  nine  natives  wTho  came  to  his  house  to  do  wrnrk.  He 
had  to  keep  account  of  their  irregular  comings  and  goings, 
to  examine  each  one  that  he  did  not  steal,  to  investigate 
his  wTork  that  it  wras  not  half  done.  Men  and  women  are 
alike — they  must  be  watched  every  moment,  because  the}" 
have  been  so  long  watched  and  driven.  If  women  who 
are  hired  and  paid  by  the  month  break  or  destroy  the 
least  thing,  its  value  is  taken  out  of  their  wmges  and  they 
are  beaten.  It  was  very  astonishing  to  me  to  see,  not- 
withstanding this  serfdom,  that  they  remain  submissive 
to  the  same  masters  and  mistresses. 

A man  wras  condemned  to  die  by  one  of  the  secret 
societies.  His  most  faithful  servant,  a member  of  the 
order,  was  chosen  to  execute  the  sentence.  He  calmly  met 


THE  NATIVES 


77 


his  master  at  the  door,  made  a thrust  at  him  and  wounded 
him  slightly,  struck  again,  and  again  ; the  third  blow  was 
fatal.  The  servant  was  never  punished  for  the  crime.  It 
happened  just  a few  doors  from  where  I was  living.  There 
was  a large  funeral  procession  and  a huge  black  cross  was 
placed  at  the  door,  and  that  ended  the  matter,  so  far  as 
I know.  They  place  little  value  upon  life  ; they  seem  to 
think  death  is  but  the  gate  to  great  happiness,  no  matter 
what  its  manner  may  be.  I used  to  see  many  persons, 
men  and  women,  with  crosses  on  their  throats  and  bodies. 
I asked  ever  so  many  what  it  meant,  but  was  never  able 
to  find  out.  It  was  never  seen  upon  the  so-called  better 
class.  Much  that  I learned  of  the  various  tribes  and  vari- 
ous castes  was  told  me  by  a converted  Filipino,  Rev. 
Manakin.  He  expected  any  time  to  be  placed  under  the 
ban  of  the  secret  societies  and  killed. 


WOOINGS  AND  WEDDINGS. 


CHAPTER  TEN. 

HE  manner  of  wooing  is  rather  peculiar.  The 
man  who  wishes  to  pay  his  addresses  to  a 
woman  gets  the  consent  of  her  father  and 
mother.  He  is  received  by  the  entire  fam- 
ily when  he  calls,  but  is  never  allowed,  in 
any  way,  to  show  her  any  special  favor  or  attention  ; he 
must  devote  himself  to  the  entire  family.  If  he  wishes 
to  take  her  to  a theatre,  or  concert,  or  dance,  he  must 
take  the  entire  family.  For  about  a week  before  the 
marriage  the  bride  elect  is  carried  about  in  a sort  of 
wicker  bamboo  hammock  borne  on  the  shoulders  of  two 
young  men  and  she  goes  about  paying  visits  to  her  inti- 
mate friends ; she  is  not  allowed  to  put  foot  to  the  ground 
or  do  any  sort  of  menial  labor. 

Mothers  brought  their  young  daughters  to  me  daily 
to  importune  me  to  choose  a sweetheart  for  my  son  or 
for  any  other  officer  who  happened  to  be  at  our  head- 
quarters. I know  that  one  young  officer  was  offered 
$100,000  to  marry  the  daughter  of  one  of  the  richest 

men  in  the  town  of  Molo,  and  it  was  a great  wonder  to 

(78) 


WOOINGS  AND  WEDDINGS 


79 


the  father  that  the  young  man  could  refuse  so  brilliant  a 
match  socially,  to  say  nothing  of  it  financially.  There 
happened  to  be  a young  Englishman  in  the  regular  ser- 
vice whose  time  expired  while  he  was  at  Jaro.  He  had 
been  cook  and  valet  for  an  officer’s  mess  and  was  really 
a very  fine  fellow.  He  was  immediately  chosen  by  a 
wealthy  Filipino  to  marry  his  daughter.  The  young 
man  not  only  got  a wife  but  a very  handsome  plantation 
of  sugar  and  rice  ; perhaps  not  the  only  foreign  husband 
secured  by  a good  dowry. 

The  trousseau  of  a rich  Filipino  girl  consists  of  dozens 
and  dozens  of  rich  dresses  ; no  other  article  is  of  interest. 
They  do  not  need  the  lingerie.  Among  the  common 
people  it  is  simply  an  arrangement  between  the  mother 
and  the  groom  or  it  can  all  be  arranged  with  the  priest. 
I have  seen  as  many  as  fifteen  young  girls  sitting  in  the 
market  place  while  their  mothers  told  of  their  various 
good  qualities.  Marriage  is  not  a question  of  affection, 
seemingly.  The  only  thing  necessary  is  money  enough 
to  pay  the  priest.  Very  often  all  rites  are  set  aside  ; the 
man  chooses  his  companion,  the  two  live  together  and 
probably  rear  a large  family. 

I was  told  that  there  are  two  sets  of  commandments 
in  use  — one  for  the  rich,  the  other  for  the  poor. 

I was  glad  to  accept  the  kind  invitation  of  a rich  and 
influential  family  to  their  daughter’s  wedding.  At  the 
proper  hour,  I presented  myself  at  the  church  door  and 
was  politely  escorted  to  a seat.  There  was  music.  The 
natives  came  dressed  in  their  best,  and  squatted  upon  the 
floor  of  the  cathedral.  After  a long  time  the  bride  elect 


8o 


AN  OHIO  WOMAN  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 


sauntered  in  with  three  or  four  of  her  attendants  not 
especially  attired,  nor  did  they  march  in  to  music  but 
visited  along  the  way  as  they  came  straggling  in.  Soon 
the  groom  shuffled  in,  I say  shuffled  because  they  have  so 
recently  begun  to  wear  shoes.  The  bridal  group  gath- 
ered before  the  altar  and  listened  to  the  ritual.  Finally 
the  groom  took  the  bride’s  hand  for  one  brief  moment. 
A few  more  words  by  the  priest  and  the  ceremony  was 
ended.  To  my  surprise  the  bride  came  up  and  greeted 
me.  I did  not  understand  what  I was  expected  to  do 
but  I shook  hands  and  said  I hoped  she  would  be  very 
happy.  The  groom  now  came  up  and  bowing  low  pre- 
sented his  “ felicitations.”  I returned  the  bow  but  could 
not  muster  a word.  The  women  straggled  out  on  one 
side  of  the  cathedral  and  the  men  on  the  other.  This 
was  considered  a first  class  “ matrimony.”  There  was  a 
very  large  reception  at  the  house  with  a grand  ball  in  the 
evening  ; indeed,  there  were  two  or  three  days  of  fes- 
tivities. 

In  contrast  to  this  was  the  wholesale  matrimonial 
bureau  -which  was  conducted  every  Saturday  morning. 
I have  seen  as  many  as  ten  couples  married  all  at  once. 
I never  knew  which  man  was  married  to  which  woman, 
as  the  men  stood  grouped  on  one  side  of  the  priest  and 
the  women  on  the  other.  I asked  one  groom,  “Which 
is  your  wife  ? ' ’ He  scanned  the  crowd  of  brides  a mo- 
ment then  said  comfortably,  “Oh,  she  is  around  some- 
where.” 

I used  to  go  to  the  cathedral  on  Saturdays  to  see  the 
various  ceremonies.  The  most  interesting  of  all  were 


WOOINGS  AND  WEDDINGS 


8 1 


the  cheap  baptisms  at  which  all  the  little  babies  born 
during  the  week  were  baptized  for  ten  cents.  These  piti- 
able little  creatures,  deformed  and  shrunken,  were  too 
weak  to  wail,  or,  perhaps  they  were  too  stupified  with 
narcotics.  A large  candle  was  put  into  each  little  bird- 
claw,  the  nurse  or  mother  holding  it  in  place  above  the 
passive  body  covered  only  with  a scrap  of  gauze  but 
decked  out  with  paper  flowers,  huge  pieces  of  jewelry, 
odd  trinkets,  anything  they  had  — all  dirty,  mother,  child, 
ornaments  ; the  onlookers  still  more  dirty.  The  priest 
whom  I knew  very  well,  since  he  lived  just  across  the 
way,  told  me  that  few  of  these  cheap  babies  live  long.  I 
am  sure  they  could  not ; not  one  of  them  would  weigh 
five  pounds.  They  were  all  emaciated  ; death  would 
be  a mercy.  There  was  a little  fellow  next  door  to 
whom  I was  very  much  attached.  The  dear  little  naked 
child  would  stay  with  me  by  the  day  if  I would  have 
him  ; he  was  four  years  old  but  no  larger  than  an  Ameri- 
can baby  of  four  months.  I used  to  long  for  a rocking 
chair  that  I might  sing  him  to  sleep  but  he  had  no  idea 
of  sleeping  when  he  was  with  me.  His  great  brown 
eyes  would  look  into  my  face  with  an  intensity  of  love  ; 
he  would  gaze  at  me  till  I feared  that  he  was  something 
uncanny.  If  I gave  him  a lump  of  sugar,  he  would  hold 
it  reverently  a long  time  before  he  would  presume  to 
eat  it.  Kvery  day  he  and  other  little  devoted  natives 
would  bring  me  bouquets  of  flowers,  stuck  on  the  spikes 
of  a palm  or  on  tooth  picks.  No  well  regulated  house 
but  has  bundles  of  tooth  picks  arranged  in  fancy  shapes 
such  as  fans  and  flowers.  All  their  sideboards  and 


82 


AN  OHIO  WOMAN  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 


tables  have  huge  bouquets  of  these  wonderfully  wrought 
and  gayly  ornamental  tooth  picks. 

They  carve  with  skill ; out  of  a bit  of  wood  or  bam- 
boo they  will  whittle  a book,  so  pretty  as  to  be  worth 
four  or  five  dollars. 

One  day  I made  a woman  understand  by  signs  that  I 
should  like  to  weave  ; she  nodded  approval  and  in  a little 
while  a loom  was  brought  to  the  house ; we  went  over 
to  the  market,  purchased  our  fiber  and  began.  I found 
it  a difficult  task,  as  I had  to  sit  in  a cramped  position  ; 
and  the  slippery  treadles  of  round  bamboo  polished  by 
use  were  hard  to  manage.  I did  better  without  shoes. 
The  weaving  was  a diversion  ; it  occupied  my  time  when 
the  soldiers  were  out  of  the  quarters.  I will  not  deny 
that  yards  of  the  fabric  were  watered  with  my  tears. 
There  was  dangerous  and  exhausting  work  for  our 
troops ; and  there  were  bad  reports  that  many  were 
mutilated  and  killed. 


6 


MY  FIRST  FOURTH  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES. 


CHAPTER  ELEVEN. 

CAN  not  tell  what  joy  it  was  to  me  to  see  my 
son  and  the  members  of  the  troop  come 
riding  into  town  alive  and  well  after  a hard 
campaign.  They  looked  as  if  they  had  seen 
service,  and  what  huge  appetites  they  brought 
with  them.  On  the  third  of  July,  1900,  I heard  that  the 
boys  were  coming  back  on  the  Fourth.  Learning  that 
there  was  nothing  for  their  next  day’s  rations  I decided 
to  prepare  a good  old-fashioned  dinner  myself.  - All 
night  long  I baked  and  boiled  and  prepared  that  meal ; 
eighty-three  pumpkin  pies,  fifty-two  chickens,  three 
hams,  forty  cakes,  ginger-bread,  ’lasses  candy,  pickles, 
cheese,  coffee,  and  cigars.  Having  purchased  from  a 
Chinese  some  fire  crackers  — as  soon  as  there  was  a 
streak  of  dawn  — I went  to  my  window  and  lighted  those 
crackers.  It  was  such  a surprise  to  the  entire  town; 
they  came  to  see  what  could  be  the  matter,  as  no  firing 
was  permitted  in  the  city.  We  began  our  first  Fourth 
in  true  American  style,  as  the  “Old  Glory”  was  being 

raised  we  sang  “ Star  Spangled  Banner.”  Many  joined 

(83) 


84 


AN  OHIO  WOMAN  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 


in  the  chorus  and  in  the  Hip  ! Hip  ! Hurrah  ! I keep 
in  a small  frame  the  grateful  acknowledgment  of  the  en- 
tire Company  that  was  given  to  me  from  the  Gordon 
Scouts : 

Jaro,  Panay,  P.  I.,  July  4th,  1900. 

To  Mrs.  A.  E.  Conger  : 

We,  the  undersigned,  members  of  Gordon’s  Detach- 
ment, of  Mounted  Eighteenth  Infantry  Scouts,  desire,  in 
behalf  of  the  entire  troop,  to  express  our  thanks  for  and 
appreciation  of  the  excellent  dinner  prepared  and  fur- 
nished us  by  Mrs.  A.  E.  Conger,  July  4th,  1900.  It 
was  especially  acceptable  coming  as  it  did  immediately 
after  return  from  arduous  field  service  against  Filipino 
insurrectos  and,  being  prepared  and  tendered  us  by  one 
of  our  own  brave  and  kind  American  women,  it  was 
doubly  so. 

It  is  the  earnest  wish  of  the  detachment  that  Mrs. 
Conger  may  never  know  less  pleasure  than  was  afforded 
us  by  such  a noble  example  of  patriotic  American 
womanhood. 

Respectfully, 


. Ok  (j^\cyr<. 



^7'. 


K rrj, 


MY  FIRST  FOURTH  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 


85 


J)  CLwJA,  $ 


a^tyiy7 


I prepared  other  dinners  at  various  times,  but  this 
first  spread  was  to  them  and  to  myself  a very  great 
pleasure. 

Letters  from  home  were  full  of  surprise  that  we  still 
stayed  though  the  war  was  over  — the  newspapers  said  it 
was.  For  us  the  anxiety  and  struggle  still  went  011. 
To  be  sure  there  were  no  pitched  battles  but  the  skirm- 
ishing was  constant ; new  outbreaks  of  violence  and 
cruelty  were  daily  occurring,  entailing  upon  our  men 
harassing  watch  and  chase.  The  insurrectos  were  butch- 
ers to  their  own  people.  Captain  N.  told  me  that  he 
hired  seven  native  men  to  do  some  work  around  the  bar- 


86 


AN  OHIO  WOMAN  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 


racks  up  in  the  country  and  paid  them  in  American 
money,  good  generous  wages.  They  carried  the  money 
to  their  leader  who  was  so  indignant  that  they  had 
worked  for  the  Americans  that  he  ordered  them  to  dig 
their  graves  and,  with  his  own  hands,  cut,  mutilated, 
and  killed  six  of  them.  The  seventh  survived.  Bleed- 
ing and  almost  lifeless,  he  crawled  back  to  the  American 
quarters  and  told  his  story.  The  captain  took  a guide 
and  a detail,  found  the  place  described,  exhumed  the 
bodies  and  verified  every  detail  of  the  inhuman  deed. 

They  committed  many  bloody  deeds,  then  swiftly 
drew  back  to  the  swamps  and  thickets  impenetrable  to  our 
men.  „ The  very  day,  the  hour,  that  the  Peace  Commis- 
sioner, Governor  Taft,  Judge  Wright  and  others  to  the 
number  of  thirty  were  enjoying  an  elegantly  prepared  re- 
past at  Jaro  there  was,  within  six  miles,  a spirited  con- 
flict going  on,  our  boys  trying  to  capture  the  most  blood- 
thirsty villians  of  the  islands.  This  gang  had  hitherto 
escaped  by  keeping  near  the  shore  and  the  impenetrable 
swamps  of  the  inanglares.  No  foot  but  a Filipino’s  can 
tread  these  jungles.  When  driven  into  the  very  closest 
quarters,  they  take  to  their  boats,  and  slip  away  to  some 
nearby  island. 

I hope  that  my  son  and  his  men  will  pardon  me  for 
telling  that  they  rushed  into  some  fortifications  that  they 
saw  on  one  of  their  perilous  marches  and  with  a sudden 
fusillade  captured  the  stronghold.  The  Filipinos  had  a 
company  of  cavalry,  one  of  infantry,  one  of  bolo  men, 
and  reserves.  The  insurrecto  captain  told  me  himself 
that  he  never  was  so  surprised,  mortified,  and  grieved 


SURRENDER  OF  GENERAL  DELGARDO  AND  ARMY,  FEBRUARY  2,  1901. 


MY  FIRST  FOURTH  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES  87 

that  such  a thing  could  have  been  done.  They  thought 
there  was  a large  army  back  of  this  handful  of  men, 
eleven  in  all.  General  R.  P.  Hughes  sent  the  following 
telegram  to  my  son,  and  his  brave  scouts  : “ To  Lieu- 

tenant Conger,  June  14,  1900,  Iloilo.  I congratulate 
you  and  your  scouts  on  your  great  success.  No  action 
of  equal  dash  and  gallantry  has  come  under  my  notice  in 
the  Philippines.”  (Signed)  R.  P.  Hughes. 

All  this  time  there  were  negotiations  going  on  to  se- 
cure surrender  and  the  oath  of  allegiance.  Those  who 
vowed  submission  did  not  consider  it  at  all  binding. 

General  Del  Gardo  surrendered  with  protestations  of 
loyalty  and  has  honored  his  word  ever  since  ; he  is  now 
Governor  of  the  Island  of  Panay  (pan-i).  He  is  very 
gentlemanly  in  appearance  and  bearing  and  has  assumed 
the  duties  of  his  new  office  with  much  dignity.  Just  re- 
cently I learn,  to  my  surprise,  that  he  does  not  recognize 
the  authority  of  the  “ Presidente  ” of  the  town  of  Oton, 
who  was  appointed  before  the  surrender  of  General  Del 
Gardo,  and  that  therefore  the  very  fine  flag  raising  we 
had  on  the  Fourth  of  July,  1900,  is  not  considered  legal. 
We  had  a famous  day  of  it  at  the  time.  All  the  soldiers 
who  could  be  spared  marched  to  Oton.  There  was  a 
company  of  artillery,  some  cavalry,  and  the  scouts. 
From  other  islands,  Americans  and  our  sick  soldiers  were 
brought  by  steamer  as  near  as  possible  and  then  landed 
in  small  boats.  We  were  somewhat  delayed  in  arriving 
but  were  greeted  in  a most  friendly  manner  by  the  whole 
town.  We  were  escorted  up  to  the  house  of  the  Presi- 
dente and  were  immediately  served  with  refreshments 


88 


AN  OHIO  WOMAN  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 


that  were  most  lavish  in  quantity,  color,  shape  and  kind ; 
too  numerous  in  variety  to  taste,  and  too  impossible  of 
taste  to  partake.  After  the  parade,  came  the  running 
up  of  the  flag,  made  by  the  women  of  the  town.  The 
shouting  and  the  cheering  vied  with  the  band  playing 
“ America,”  “ Hail  Columbia,”  and  the  ‘‘Star  Spangled 
Banner.”  It  was  indeed  an  American  day  celebrated  in 
loyal  fashion — certainly  by  the  Americans.  It  was  the 
very  first  flag  raising  in  the  Islands  by  the  Filipinos 
themselves.  It  is  with  regret  that  I hear  that  General 
Del  Gardo  has  refused  officially  to  recognize  this  historic 
occasion.  After  these  ceremonies  we  had  the  banquet. 
I do  not  recall  any  dish  that  was  at  all  like  our  food  ex- 
cept small  quail,  the  size  of  our  robins.  Where  and  how 
they  captured  all  the  birds  that  were  served  to  that  im- 
mense crowd  and  how  they  ever  prepared  the  innumer- 
able kinds  of  refreshments  no  one  will  ever  know  but 
themselves.  We  were  all  objects  of  curiosity.  The  na- 
tives for  miles  around  flocked  in  to  gaze  upon  the  Ameri- 
cans. At  this  place  there  is  one  of  the  finest  cathedrals 
on  the  Island  of  Panay,  large  enough  for  a whole  regi- 
ment of  soldiers  to  quarter  in,  as  once  happened  during  a 
very  severe  storm.  The  reredos  was  especially  fine.  It 
was  in  the  center  of  the  cathedral  and  was  almost  wholly 
constructed  of  hammered  silver  of  very  intricate  pattern 
and  design.  Nave,  choir,  and  transepts  were  ornamented 
with  exquisite  carving  in  stone  and  wood. 


CATHEDRAL  AT  OTON. 


INTERIOR  OF  CATHEDRAL  AT  OTON. 


FLOWERS,  FRUITS  AND  BERRIES. 


CHAPTER  TWELVE. 

RUITS  are  of  many  varities;  the  most  luscious 
are  the  mangoes.  There  is  only  one  crop 
a year  ; the  season  lasts  from  April  to  July. 
It  is  a long,  kidney-shaped  fruit.  It  seems 
to  me  most  delicious,  but  some  do  not  like 
it  at  all.  The  flavor  has  the  richness  and  sweetness  of 
every  fruit  that  one  can  think  of.  They  disagree  with 
some  persons  and  give  rise  to  a heat  rash.  For  their 
sweet  sake,  I took  chances  and  ended  by  making  a busi- 
ness of  eating  and  taking  the  consequences.  The  mango 
tree  has  fine  green  satin  leaves  ; the  fruit  is  not  allowed 
to  ripen  on  the  tree.  The  natives  pick  mangoes  as  we 
pick  choice  pears  and  let  them  ripen  before  eating.  They 
handle  them  just  as  carefully,  and  place  them  in  baskets 
that  hold  just  one  layer.  The  best  mangoes  are  some- 
times fifty  cents  a piece.  The  fruit  that  stands  next  in 
favor  is  the  chico.  It  looks  not  unlike  a russet  apple  on 
the  outside,  but  the  inside  has,  when  ripe,  a brown  meat 
and.  four  or  five  black  seeds  quite  like  watermelon  seeds. 
It  is  rich  and  can  be  eaten  with  impunity. 

The  banana  grows  everywhere,  and  its  varieties  are 

(89) 


90 


AN  OHIO  WOMAN  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 


as  numerous  as  those  of  our  apple  ; its  colors,  its  sizes, 
manifold.  Some  about  the  size  of  one’s  finger  are  deli- 
ciously sweet  and  juicy.  They  grow  seemingly  without 
any  cultivation  whatever,  by  the  road  as  freely  as  in  the 
gardens.  Guavas  are  plentiful,  oranges  abundant  but 
poor  in  quality.  The  pomelo  is  like  our  “ grape  fruit,” 
but  larger,  less  bitter  and  less  juicy.  Cut  into  squares 
or  sections  and  served  with  a sauce  of  white  of  egg  and 
sugar  beaten  together  it  is  a delicious  dish. 

There  are  no  strawberries  or  raspberries,  but  many 
kinds  of  small  fruits,  none  of  which  I considered  at  all 
palatable,  although  some  of  them  looked  delicious  hang- 
ing upon  the  trees  or  bushes.  There  is  a small  green 
kind  of  cherry  full  of  tiny  seeds  that  the  natives  prize 
and  enjoy.  The  fruits  of  one  island  are  common  to  all. 

The  flora  of  the  country  was  not  seen  at  its  best;  many 
of  the  natives  told  me.  Trees,  shrubs,  gardens  and  plan- 
tations had  been  trampled  by  both  armies  and  left  to 
perish.  Our  government  took  up  the  work  of  restoration 
as  soon  as  possible.  The  few  roses  that  I saw  were  not 
of  a particularly  good  quality,  nor  did  they  have  any 
fragrance.  No  one  can  ever  know  what  joy  thrilled  me 
when  one  day  I found  some  old  fashioned  four  o’ clocks 
growing  in  the  church  yard.  The  natives  do  not  care  to 
use  the  natural  flowers  in  the  graceful  sprays  or  luxur- 
iant clusters  in  which  they  grow.  They  usually  stick 
them  on  the  sharp  spikes  of  some  small  palm  or  wind 
them  on  a little  stick  to  make  a cone  or  set  the  spikelets 
side  by  side  in  a flat  block.  They  much  prefer  artificial 
stiffness  to  natural  grace.  In  the  hundreds  of  funeral 


FLOWERS,  FRUITS  AND  BERRIES  9 1 

ceremonies  that  I saw  I never  noticed  the  use  of  a single 
natural  blossom.  The  flowers  were  all  artificial,  of  silk, 
paper,  or  tissue.  One  reason,  perhaps,  of  this  choice  is 
that  all  vegetation  is  infested  with  ants ; they  can  scarce- 
ly be  seen,  but,  oh,  they  can  be  felt!  The  first  time  I 
was  out  driving  I begged  the  guard  to  gather  me  huge 
bunches  of  most  exquisite  blooms  but  I was  soon  eager 
to  throw  them  all  out ; the  ants  swarmed  upon  me  and 
drove  me  nearly  frantic.  I learned  to  shun  my  own 
garden  paths  and  to  content  myself  with  looking  out  of 
the  window  on  the  plants  below.  There  are  many  birds 
but  no  songsters. 

The  betel  nut  is  about  the  size  of  a walnut.  The 
kernel  is  white  like  the  cocoanut.  They  wrap  a bit  of 
this  kernel  with  a pinch  of  air-slacked  lime  in  a pepper 
leaf,  then  chew,  chew,  all  day,  and  in  intervals  of  chew- 
ing they  spray  the  vividly  colored  saliva  on  door-step, 
pavement  and  church  floor. 

I often  watched  the  natives  climb  the  tall  cocoanut 
trees,  about  eighty  feet  high,  with  only  the  fine  fern-like 
leaves  at  the  extreme  top.  These  trees  yield  twenty  to 
fifty  cocoanuts  per  month  and  live  to  a great  age.  No 
one  can  have  any  idea  of  the  delicious  milk  until  he  has 
drunk  it  fresh  from  the  recently  gathered  nuts.  A 
young  native  will  climb  as  nimbly  and  as  swiftly  as  a 
monkey,  and  will  be  as  unfettered  by  dress  as  his  Dar- 
winian brother.  The  fruit  is  severed  from  the  tree  by 
the  useful  bolo. 

7 The  flowers  in  the  parks  when  I saw  them  had  all 
been  trampled  into  the  mud  by  the  soldiers  of  both 


92 


AN  OHIO  WOMAN  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 


armies,  but  I was  told  that  they  had  been  very  beautiful. 
There  were  also  large  trees,  bearing  huge  clusters  of 
blooms ; one  bunch  had  seventy-five  blossoms,  each  as 
large  as  a fair  sized  nasturtium.  These  are  called  Fire 
or  Fever  Trees,  since  they  have  the  appearance  of  being 
on  fire  and  bloom  in  the  hot  season  when  fever  is  most 
prevalent.  Other  trees  whose  name  I do  not  recall  bear 
equally  large  clusters  of  purple  flowers.  The  palms  are 
large  and  grow  in  great  luxuriance,  and  the  double  hibis- 
cus look  like  large  pinks. 


THE  MARKETS. 


CHAPTER  THIRTEEN. 


HE  market  day  is  the  great  da3'  of  every 
town.  A certain  part  of  every  village  is 
prepared  with  booths  and  stalls  to  display 
wares  of  endless  variety.  We  all  looked 
forward  to  market  day.  There  were  mats 
of  various  sizes, — mats  are  used  for  everything.  There 
are  some  so  skillfully  woven  that  they  are  handsome 
ornaments,  worth  as  much  as  a good  rug.  There  were 
hats  woven  out  of  the  most  delicately  shredded  fibers,  the 
best  costing  from  twelve  to  twenty  dollars  in  gold,  very 

t 

durable  and  very  beautiful.  The  best  ones  can  be  woven 
only  in  a damp  place,  as  the  fiber  must  be  kept  moist 
while  being  handled.  There  were  fish  nets  of  abaka  dif- 
fering in  mesh  to  suit  the  various  kinds  of  fish.  The 
cloths  were  hung  on  lines  to  show  their  texture.  We 
had  to  pick  our  way  amongst  the  stalls  and  through  or 
over  the  natives  seated  on  the  ground.  I have  seen  a 
space  of  two  acres  covered  with  hundreds  of  natives,  cari- 
bou, trotting  bulls,  chickens,  turkeys,  ducks,  fine  goods, 
vegetables,  and  fruits  all  in  one  mass  ; and  I had  to  keep 

(93) 


94 


AN  OHIO  WOMAN  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 


a good  lookout  where  I stepped  and  what  I ran  into.  It 
was  not  necessary  to  go  often  for  they  were  more  than 
willing  to  bring  all  their  wares  to  the  house  if  they  had 
any  prospects  of  a sale.  I have  had  as  many  as  thirty 
natives  troop  into  the  house  at  one  time.  They  finally 
became  so  obnoxious  that  I forbade  them  coming  at  all. 

The  silence  of  these  crowds  was  noticeable.  They 
were  keenly  alive  to  business  and  did  not  laugh  and  joke 
or  even  talk  in  reasonable  measure.  As  a race  they  are 
solemn  even  in  their  looks,  and  no  wonder,  such  is  their 
degradation,  misery,  and  despair.  They  have  so  little 
sympathy  and  care  for  each  other,  so  little  comfort,  and 
so  neglected  and  hopeless,  so  sunken  beneath  the  so- 
called  better  class  that  when  a little  mission  gospel  was 

tJ 

started  one  could  hardly  refrain  from  tears  to  see  the  joy 
that  they  had  in  accepting  the  free  gospel.  It  was  no 
trouble  for  them  to  walk  thirty  or  forty  miles  to  get  what 
they  called  cheap  religion.  They  were  outcasts  from 
society  and  too  poor  to  pay  the  tithes  that  were  imposed 
upon  them  by  the  priests  in  their  various  parishes,  for 
no  matter  how  small  a village  was  there  was  the  very 
elegant  cathedral  in  the  center  of  the  town  which  only 
the  rich  and  those  who  were  able  to  pay  were  entitled 
to  enter. 

The  poor  blind  people  wandered  from  village  to  vil- 
lage in  groups  of  two  to  twenty.  Quite  a number  of  the 
moderately  insane  would  go  about  begging,  too,  but  the 
worst  were  chained  to  trees  or  put  in  stocks  and  their 
food  thrown  at  them.  Even  the  dumb  brutes  were  not 
so  poorly  cared  for. 


THE  MARKETS 


95 


The  houses  of  the  rich,  while  not  cleanly  and  not 
well  furnished,  always  have  one  large  room  in  which 
stands  a ring  of  chairs  with  a rug  in  the  center  of  the 
floor  and  a cuspidor  by  each  seat.  You  are  ushered  in 
and  seated  in  one  of  these  low  square  chairs,  usually  cane 
seated.  After  the  courtesies  of  the  day  and  the  hostess’s 
comments  on  the  fineness  of  your  clothing,  refreshments 
are  brought  in, — cigars,  cigarettes,  wTine,  cake,  and  pre- 
served cocoanut.  Sometimes  American  beer  is  added  as 
possibly  more  acceptable  than  the  wine. 

The  citizens  of  Jaro  seemed  to  be  friendly,  they  often 
invited  me  to  their  festivities  ; committees  would  wait 
upon  me,  presenting  me  sometimes  invitations  engraved 
upon  silver  with  every  appearance  of  cordiality  in  ex- 
pression and  manner.  They  could  not  understand  why 
I would  not  accept ; I would  explain,  that  first,  I had  no 
desire;  second,  I thought  it  poor  policy  to  do  so  when 
our  soldiers  were  obliged  to  fight  their  soldiers,  and  they 
were  furnishing  the  money  to  carry  on  the  warfare ; then 
too,  most  of  their  balls  were  given  on  Sunday  night. 
True,  a Filipino  Sunday  never  seemed  Sunday  to  me.  I 
could  only  say,  foolishly  enough,  “ But  it  is  not  Sunday 
at  home.”  I could  not  attend  their  parties  and  I had 
little  heart  to  dance.  I had  only  to  go  to  the  window  to 
see  their  various  functions ; it  could  hardly  be  called 
merry  as  they  went  at  it  in  such  a listless,  lazy  wray,  with 
apparently  little  enjoyment,  the  air  that  they  carry  into 
all  their  pleasures. 


PHILIPPINE  AGRICULTURE. 


CHAPTER  FOURTEEN. 


T HAS  been  said  that  the  prosperity  of  any 
nation  depends  largely  upon  its  agriculture. 
The  soil  in  the  Philippines  is  very  rich. 
The  chief  product,  which  the  natives  spend 
the  most  time  upon,  is  rice ; and  even  that 
is  grown,  one  almost  might  say,  without  any  care,  es- 
pecially after  seeing  the  way  the  Japanese  till  their  rice. 
They  sow  the  rice  broadcast  in  little  square  places  of 
about  half  an  acre  which  is  partly  filled  with  water. 
When  this  has  grown  eight  or  ten  inches  high  they 
transplant  it  into  other  patches  which  have  been  prev- 
iously scratched  over  with  a rude  one-handled  plow  that 
often  has  for  a point  only  a piece  of  an  old  tin  can  or  a 
straggly  root,  and  into  this  prepared  bit  of  land  they  open 
the  dyke  and  let  in  the  water ; that  is  all  that  is  neces- 
sary until  the  harvesting.  They  have  a great  pest,  the 
langousta  or  grasshopper,  and  they  are  obliged,  when 
these  insects  fly  over  a section  of  the  country,  to  scare 
them  away  by  any  means  in  their  power,  which  is  usually 
by  running  about  through  the  rice  fields  waving  a red  rag. 

(96) 


PHILIPPINE  AGRICULTURE 


97 


As  I have  said  before  they  gather  these  pests  and  eat 
them.  I have  seen  bushels  of  fried  langousta  for  sale  in 
the  markets.  When  they  gather  the  rice  harvest,  it  is 
carried  to  some  nearby  store  room,  usually  in  the  lower 
part  of  the  house  in  which  they  live.  Then  comes  the 
threshing,  which  is  done  with  old-fashioned  mills,  by 
pounding  with  a wooden  mallet,  or  by  rubbing  between 
two  large  pieces  of  wood.  Then  they  winnow  it,  hold- 
ing it  up  by  the  peck  or  half  bushel  to  let  the  wind  blow 
the  hulls  off,  and  dry  it  by  placing  it  on  mats  of  woven 
bamboo.  I saw  tons  of  rice  prepared  in  this  way  by  the 
side  of  the  road  near  where  I lived.  This  being  their 
staple,  the  food  for  man  and  beast,  one  can  form  some 
idea  of  the  vast  quantities  that  are  needed.  There  was 
a famine  while  I was  there  and  the  U.  S.  government 
was  obliged  to  supply  the  natives  with  rice  for  seed 
and  food. 

There  is  no  grass  grown  except  a sort  of  swamp  grass. 
The  rice  cut  when  it  is  green  is  used  in  the  place  of 
grass.  It  is  never  dried,  as  it  grows  the  year  round. 
One  can  look  out  any  day  and  see  rows  of  small  bundles 
of  this  rice  paddy  laid  by  the  road  side  for  sale  or  carried 
by  the  natives  on  bamboo  poles,  a bundle  before  and  one 
behind  to  balance.  It  was  astonishing  to  see  these  small 
men  and  boys  struggling  under  the  weight  of  their  ‘ ‘ loads 
of  hay.”  None  of  the  American  horses  cared  for  it; 
their  hay  and  grain  had  to  be  stacked  up  along  the  wharf 
and  guarded.  It  would  be  of  little  use,  however,  to  the 
natives  as  they  know  nothing  about  the  use  of  our 
products. 


98  AN  OHIO  WOMAN  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

If  there  was  any  wheat  grown  in  the  islands,  we 
never  heard  of  it,  and  judging  from  the  way  in  which 
flour  was  sold  in  their  markets  at  ten  cents  for  a small 
cornucopia  that  would  hold  about  a gill,  it  was  probably 
brought  from  either  Australia  or  America. 

They  have  a camote,  something  like  a sweet  potato. 
Although  it  is  watery  and  stringy  it  does  very  well  and 
is  called  a good  vegetable.  They  raise  inferior  tomatoes 
and  verjr  inferior  garlic.  It  was  a matter  of  great  curi- 
osity to  the  natives  to  see  an  American  plow  that  was 
placed  on  exhibition  at  the  British  store.  I am  sure 
when  they  can  take  some  of  our  good  agricultural  imple- 
ments and  turn  the  rich  soil  over  and  work  it,  even  in  a 
poor  way,  the  results  will  be  beyond  an}dhing  we  could 
produce  here  in  the  United  States. 

Their  cane  sugar  is  of  fine  quality,  almost  equal  to 
our  maple  sugar.  They  plant  the  seed  in  a careless  way 
and  tend  it  in  the  most  slovenly  manner  imaginable,  and 
yet,  they  get  immense  crops.  One  man,  who  put  in  a 
crop  near  where  some  soldiers  were  encamped  in  order  to 
have  their  protection,  told  us  that  he  sold  the  product 
from  this  small  stretch  of  ground  of  not  more  than  five 
or  six  acres  for  ten  thousand  dollars. 

The  natives  so  disliked  to  work  that  nearly  every  one 
who  employed  men  kept  for  them  a gaming  table  and  the 
inevitable  fighting  cocks  ; as  long  as  they  can  earn  a little 
money  to  gamble  that  is  all  they  care  for  J houses,  lands, 
and  families  are  not  considered.  Nearly  all  the  sugar 
mills  had  been  burned  in  our  neighborhood,  but  I know 
from  the  way  they  do  everything  else  that  they  must 


PHILIPPINE  AGRICULTURE 


99 


have  used  the  very  crudest  kind  of  boiling  apparatus. 
The  sugar  seemed  reasonably  clean  to  look  at,  but  when 
boiled  the  sediment  was  anything  but  clean.  With  our 
evaporating  machines  and  with  care  to  get  the  most  out 
of  the  crop,  the  profit  will  be  enormous.  Often  wre 
would  buy  the  cane  in  the  markets,  peel  off  the  outside 
and  chew  the  pith  to  get  the  sweet  juice. 

They  raise  vast  quantities  of  cocoa,  as  indifferently 
cared  for  as  everything  else,  also  a small  flat  bean,  but  it 
has  a bitter  taste. 

The  largest  crop  of  all  is  the  hemp  crop  which  grows, 
seemingly,  without  any  cultivation.  This  hemp  when 
growing  looks  something  like  the  banana  tree.  They  cut 
it  down  and  divide  it  into  lengths  as  long  as  possible  and 
then  prepare  the  wood  or  fiber  by  shaving  it  on  iron  teeth. 

<9  They  are  expert  in  this  industry,  in  making  it  fine 
and  in  tying  it,  often  times,  in  lengths  of  not  more  than 
two  or  three  inches.  They  give  a very  dextrous  turn  of 
the  hand  and  the  finest  of  these  threads  are  used  in  some 
of  the  fabrics  which  they  weave.  I often  wondered  how 
they  could  prepare  these  delicate,  strong,  linen-like 
threads  that  are  as  fine  as  gossamer. 

A man  who  had  cotton  mills  in  Massachusetts  visited 
places  where  the  hemp  is  prepared  and  the  looms  where 
it  is  woven.  He  said  he  had  never  known  anything  so 
wonderful  as  the  deft  manner  in  which  these  people 
worked  out  the  little  skeins  from  an  intricate  mass  of 
tangled  webs. 

One  of  the  curiosities  of  the  world’s  fair  at  St.  Louis 
will  be  this  tying  and  weaving  of  hemp.  Then  a still 


IOO 


AN  OHIO  WOMAN  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 


greater  curiosity  will  be  the  making  of  pine-apple  fiber. 
This  manufacture  has  been  sadly  neglected  and  crippled 
by  tne  war  and  its  devastations.  They  have  learned  to 
mix  in  other  fibers  because  of  the  scarcity  of  the  pine- 
apple. I did  not  see  this  prepared  at  all ; only  secured 
with  difficulty  some  of  the  good  cloth.  It  is  considered 
by  the  natives  their  very  best  and  finest  fabric.  They 
spend  much  time  on  its  embroidery  and  their  exquisite 
work  astonishes  the  finest  lace  makers. 

The  field  corn  which  I saw  was  of  such  an  inferior 
grade  that  it  never  occurred  to  me  to  try  it ; indeed,  they 
do  not  bring  it  to  market  until  it  is  out  of  the  milk. 

On  my  return  home  I planted  a few  kernels  as  an  ex- 
periment. There  never  was  a more  insignificant  looking 
stalk  of  corn  in  our  garden.  With  misgivings  we  made 
trial  of  the  scrubby  looking  ears.  To  our  surprise  it  was 
the  best  we  ever  had  on  our  table.  It  seemed  too  good 
to  be  true.  I gave  several  messes  to  my  friends  and  this 
year  am  hoping  to  give  pleasure  to  many  others.  I de- 
nied myself  the  delicious  product  that  many  might  have 
seed  for  this  spring. 


MINERALS. 


CHAPTER  FIFTEEN. 


OLD  is  found  in  every  stream  of  the  islands. 
In  small  bottles  I saw  many  little  nuggets 
which  the  natives  had  picked  up.  Whether 
it  would  pay  to  use  good  machinery  to  ex- 
tract the  gold  I cannot  tell ; but  certain  it 
is  that  they  use  a great  deal  of  gold  in  the  curiously 
wrought  articles  of  jewelry  of  which  they  are  all  pas- 
sionately fond. 

A man  who  was  greatly  interested  in  the  mines  of 
Klondike  said  that  there  were  better  chances  of  getting 
gold  in  the  Philippines  and  that  he  had  given  up  all  his 
northern  claims  and  was  now  using  his  energies  to  secure 
leases  in  the  new  territory.  Other  minerals,  too,  he  said, 
are  abundant  and  valuable. 

I had  a small  brass  dagger  which  I used  to  carry  for 
defense  and,  upon  showing  it  to  some  of  my  friends,  since 
my  return,  I was  asked  if  I saw  this  dagger  made,  be- 
cause if  I knew  the  secret  of  its  annealing  it  would  be 
worth  a fortune  to  me. 


(101) 


102 


AN  OHIO  WOMAN  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 


I had  missed  a golden  chance  for  I had  often  visited 
a rude  foundry  where  they  made  bolos  and  other  articles, 
but  it  did  not  occur  to  me  that  there  could  be  anything 
of  value  to  expert  workmen  at  home  in  these  crude  hand 
processes. 

The  soldiers  that  accompanied  me,  as  well  as  I 
myself,  went  into  convulsions  of  laughter  over  the 
shape  of  their  bellows  and  the  working  of  their  forge. 
Everything  they  do  seemed  to  us  to  be  done  in  the  most 
awkward  manner  ; it  is  done  backward  if  possible.  The 
first  time  I saw  a carriage  hitched  before  the  animal  I 
wondered  how  they  could  ever  manage  it. 

Bolos  are  of  all  sizes  and  shapes  and  are  made  of  steel 
or  iron  to  suit  the  fancy  of  the  person.  Some  are  of  the 
size  and  pattern  of  an  old-fashioned  corn  cutter,  handles 
of  carved  wood  or  caribou  horn  ; sometimes  made  with  a 
fork-like  tip  and  waved  with  saw  teeth  edge.  It  is  an 
indispensable  tool  in  war  and  peace.  There  were  none  so 
poor  as  not  to  have  a bolo.  They  made  cannon,  too,  and 
guns  patterned  after  our  American  ones.  And  some- 
times cannon  were  made  out  of  bamboo,  bound  around 
with  bands  of  iron.  These  were  formidable  and  could 
shoot  with  as  much  noise  as  a brass  one,  if  not  with  as 
much  accuracy. 

They  must  get  a great  deal  of  silver,  as  they  have  so 
many  silver  articles  ; they  insert  bits  of  silver  in  the 
handles  of  bolos.  These  bolos  are  used  for  everything. 
One  day  I found  that  the  little  tin  oven  which  I brought 
from  home  was  all  worn  out  on  the  inside.  I was  in 
despair  for  there  was  no  way  of  getting  it  repaired.  My 


CARIBOU  POND 


MINERALS 


103 


native  cook  watched  me  as  I looked  at  it  sorrowfully. 
Without  saying  a word  he  wTent  to  work  and  with  only  a 
bolo  took  my  old  tin  coal  oil  can  and  constructed  a lin- 
ing with  the  metal  cleats  to  hold  the  shelves  up.  The 
only  thing  he  had  in  the  way  of  a tool  to  work  with  was 
his  bolo,  about  two  feet  long.  When  I hired  him  I 
noticed  that  he  had  great  long  finger  nails ; I told  him 
that  he  would  have  to  cut  them  off.  He  said,  “ Why  I 
don’t  too.  I wouldn’t  have  anything  to  scratch  myself 
with.”  But,  upon  my  insisting,  he  took  his  huge  bolo, 
placed  his  fingers  on  a block  of  wood,  and  severed  his 
useful  finger  nails.  They  use  these  bolos  for  cutting 
grass,  cutting  meat, — they  use  them  for  haggling  our 
soldiers,  as  we  learned  to  our  grief  and  wrath. 

There  are  vast  quantities  of  coal,  but  the  mines  so  far 
have  been  but  little  developed.  The  coal  is  so  full  of 
sulphur  that  its  quality  is  spoiled.  There  are  possibili- 
ties of  finding  it  in  good  paying  quantities  on  several  of 
the  islands.  It  makes  a quick  blaze  and  soons  burns  out. 
The  natives  sell  it  in  tiny  chunks,  by  the  handful,  or  in 
little  woven  baskets  that  hold  just  about  a quart. 


ANIMALS. 


CHAPTER  SIXTEEN. 


HE  animal  that  is  most  essential  in  every  way 
is  the  caribou  or  water  buffalo.  They  are 
expensive,  a good  one  costing  two  or  three 
hundred  dollars.  Their  number  has  been 
very  much  diminished  by  the  rinder-pest. 
The  precious  caribou  is  carefully  guarded  ; at  night  it  is 
kept  in  the  lower  part  of  the  house  or  in  a little  pond 
close  by. 

The  picture  shown  opposite  is  a good  representation 
of  the  better  class  of  fairly  well-to-do  Filipino  people ; 
they  are  rich  if  they  can  afford  as  many  caribou  as  stand 
here.  The  second  picture  shows  the  way  they  are 
driven.  Their  skins  are  used  for  everything  that  good 
strong  leather  can  be  used  for.  Their  meat  is  good  for 
food  ; but  heaven  help  anybody  who  is  obliged  to  eat  it, 
and  when  it  is  prepared,  as  it  often  is,  by  drying  the 
steaks  in  the  sun,  then  the  toughness  exceeds  that  of  the 
tanned  hide.  A sausage  mill  could  not  chew  dried  cari- 
bou. The  milk  is  watery  and  poor,  but  the  natives  like 
it  very  much.  The  horns  are  used  for  handles  for  bolos, 
(101) 


CARIBOU  AND  RIDERS. 


ANIMALS 


105 

the  hoofs  for  glue,  and  the  bones  are  turned  into  carved 
articles  of  many  kinds.  The  little  calves  that  go  wander- 
ing about  by  the  sides  of  their  mothers  are  so  curious 
and  so  top  heavy,  and  yet  they  are  strong  even  when 
small.  Caribou  sometimes  go  crazy,  and  when  they  do, 
they  tread  down  everything  in  their  way.  Notwithstand- 
ing their  ungainly  bulk  they  can  run  as  well  as  a good 
horse,  and  can  endure  long  journeys  quite  as  well.  They 
are  urged  to  greater  speed  by  the  driver  taking  the  tail 
and  giving  it  a twist  or  kicking  them  in  the  flank. 

I used  to  spend  most  of  my  time  threatening  my 
driver  that  he  would  have  to  go  to  a calaboose  if  he  did 
not  stop  abusing  the  animal.  The  horses  are  only  cari- 
catures. They  are  so  small,  so  poorly  kept,  and  so  badly 
driven  that  one  burns  with  indignation  at  the  sight  of 
them.  There  is  no  bit  and  the  bridle  is  always  bad.  The 
nose  piece  is  fitted  tight  and  has  on  the  under  side  a bit 
of  horny  fish  skin,  its  spikes  turned  towards  the  flesh. 
These  are  jerked  into  the  flesh  of  the  poor  horse  until, 
in  its  frenzy,  it  dashes  madly  from  one  side  of  the  road 
to  the  other. 

Cows  are  of  little  use.  They  look  fair  but  they  give 
little  milk.  Goats  are  next  in  importance,  and  are  de- 
lightful to  watch.  The  kids,  in  pairs  and  triplets,  are 
such  pretty  little  creatures,  so  perfectly  formed,  that  I 
could  scarcely  resist  the  desire  to  bring  a few  home. 

The  dogs  are  the  worst  looking  creatures  imaginable. 
They  are  so  maimed  that  they  are  pests  rather  than  pets  ; 
but  there  are  thousands  of  them.  There  was  one 
exception,  a dog  that  was  brought  to  me  one  day  from  a 


io6 


AN  OHIO  WOMAN  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 


burning  house,  the  like  of  which  I had  never  seen  before. 
It  was  called  an  Andalusian  poodle.  It  proved  to  be  not 
only  the  handsomest  but  the  best  little  dog  I ever  had. 
Being  a lover  of  dogs,  I regretted  very  much  to  give  him 
up  upon  my  return. 


AMUSEMENTS  AND  STREET  PARADES. 


CHAPTER  SEVENTEEN. 


S A DROWNING  man  catches  at  a straw,  so 
was  I eager  for  anything  that  would  give  even 
slight  relief  from  consuming  anxieties  and 
pressing  hardships.  The  natives  responded 
quickly  to  the  slightest  encouragement  ; 
small  change  drew  groups  of  two  to  fifty  to  give  me 
“ special  performances.”  There  were  blind  fiddlers  who 
would  play  snatches  of  operas  picked  up  ‘ ‘ by  ear  ’ ’ on 
the  rudest  kind  of  a fiddle  made  out  of  hollow  bamboo 
with  only  one  string  ; it  was  astonishing  how  much  music 
they  could  draw  from  the  rude  instrument.  The  bow 
was  a piece  of  bent  bamboo  with  shredded  abaka  for  the 
bow-strings.  Flutes  were  made  of  bamboo  stalks  ; drums 
out  of  caribou  hide  stretched  over  a cylindrical  piece  of 
bamboo.  Some  of  these  strolling  bands  came  many  miles 
to  my  door,  and  while  none  of  them  ever  produced  cor- 
rect music,  still  they  were  a great  diversion. 

There  were  strolling  players,  too.  The  first  perfor- 
mance was  the  most  interesting  that  I have  ever  seen. 

The  players  arranged  themselves  within  a square  roughly 

(107) 


io8 


AN  OHIO  WOMAN  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 


drawn  in  the  middle  of  the  road  ; then  to  the  strains  of  a 
bamboo  fiddle,  bamboo  flute,  bamboo  drum,  the  melo- 
drama was  begun.  The  hero  pranced  into  the  open 
square  to  the  tune  of  a minor  dirge,  not  knowing  a single 
sentence  of  his  part ; the  prompter,  kneeling  down  before 
a flaring  candle,  told  him  what  to  say  ; he  repeated  in 
parrot-like  fashion,  and  then  pranced  off  the  square  to 
slow  dirge-like  music.  Now  the  heroine  minced  in  from 
the  opposite  corner  to  slow  music  with  her  satin  train 
sweeping  in  the  dust ; though  carefully  raised  when  she 
crossed  the  sacred  precincts  of  the  square,  and  in  a saun- 
tering way,  with  one  arm  akimbo  and  the  other  holding 
the  fan  up  in  the  air,  she  took  the  opposite  corner  and 
the  prompter  told  her  what  to  say.  In  the  meantime  the 
candle  blew  out ; it  was  relighted  ; the  prompter  found 
his  place  and  signaled  to  the  hero  to  come  on.  From  the 
opposite  side  again,  with  a bow  and  hand  on  heart,  the 
lover  repeated  after  the  prompter  his  addresses  to  the 
waiting  maiden.  She  pretended  to  be  surprised  and 
shocked  at  his  addresses,  fainted  away  and  was  carried 
off  the  stage  by  two  women  attendants ; the  lover  with 
folded  arms  looked  calmly  at  the  sad  havoc  he  had 
wrought.  Now  a rival  suitor  sprang  into  the  ring  and 
with  a huge  bolo  attacked  number  one  and  killed  him. 
The  heroine  was  now  able  to  return.  She  did  not  fall 
into  the  arms  of  number  two.  She  only  listened  placidly 
to  the  demand  of  how  much  she  would  pay  to  secure  so 
splendid  a man  as  the  one  that  could  bolo  his  rival.  The 
parents  finally  entered  and  settled  the  difficulty.  The 
play  closed  with  the  prospect  of  a happy  union.  The 


AMUSEMENTS  AND  STREET  PARADES 


109 


company  dispersed,  the  women  and  girls  walking  on  one 
side  of  the  road  with  the  torches  in  their  hands,  and  the 
men  on  the  other,  in  two  solemn  files.  There  was  no 
chattering  or  laughing  ; yet  they  all  felt  that  they  had 
had  a most  delightful  performance. 

Two  or  three  concerts  given  at  a neighboring  town 
were  very  creditable,  but  only  the  better  class  attended  ; 
nine-tenths  of  the  people  resort  to  these  crude,  wayside 
performances.  They  look  on  with  seeming  indifference  ; 
there  is  never  a sign  of  approval,  much  less  an  outburst 
of  applause.  They  seem  to  have  no  place  in  their  souls 
for  the  ludicrous,  the  comic,  or  the  joyous.  They  were 
shocked  by  my  smiles  and  peals  of  laughter.  They  have 
a strange  preference  for  the  minor  key  in  music,  for  the 
dirge.  No  wonder  when  our  bands  would  play  lively 
music  that  they  were  quite  ready  to  take  up  the  catchy 
airs,  but  they  would  add  a mournful  cadence  to  the  most 
stirring  of  our  American  airs.  After  awhile  I found  that 
the  music  oftenest  rendered  by  the  cathedral  organ  was 
the  Aguinaldo  March.  I took  the  liberty  to  inform  the 
commanding  officer  and  that  tune  was  stopped.  After 
the  surrender,  to  my  great  surprise  and  joy,  the  same 
organ  rolled  out  “America  it  did  thrill  me,  even  if  it 
was  played  on  a Filipino  instrument  and  by  a Filipino. 

Little  boys  often  came  with  tiny  birds  which  they  had 
trained  to  do  little  tricks.  One  had  snakes  wdiich  he 
would  twist  around  his  bare  body.  And  never  was  there 
a day  without  a cock  fight.  Sometimes  the  birds  were 
held  in  check  by  strings  attached  to  them,  but  it  was  a 
common  occurrence  to  see  groups  of  natives  watching 


I IO 


AN  OHIO  WOMAN  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 


their  birds  fight  to  the  finish  at  any  time  of  day,  Sundays 
not  excepted.  And  they  will  all  bet  on  the  issue  if  it 
takes  the  last  cent  they  have.  The  do  not  seem  to  enjoy 
it  in  a hilarious  manner  at  all.  It  is  serious  business, 
without  comment  or  jovial  look  or  act.  No  one  is  so 
busy  that  he  can  not  stop  for  a cock  fight. 

There  are  many  kinds  of  monkeys  on  the  islands.  It 
is  common  to  domesticate  them,  to  train  them  to  do  their 
master’s  bidding  ; they  become  a part  of  the  family,  half 
plaything,  half  servant.  Parrots,  too,  are  adopted  into 
the  household  and  learn  to  speak  its  dialect ; they  are 
almost  uncanny  in  their  chatter  and  they,  too,  do  all 
kinds  of  tricks  at  the  bidding. 

I was  daily  importuned  to  buy  monkeys,  parrots, 
cocks,  or  song  birds.  I took  a tiny  bird  that  was  never 
known  to  so  much  as  chirp,  but  he  grew  fond  of  me, 
would  perch  upon  my  shoulder  or  would  turn  his  little 
head  right  or  left  as  if  to  ask  if  I were  pleased  with  his 
silent  attentions.  The  last  morning  of  my  stay  in  Jaro 
I went  to  the  window  and  set  him  free  but  he  immedi- 
ately came  back  and  clung  to  my  hand.  I took  him  to 
Iloilo  and  left  him  with  the  nurses  ; he  lived  only  a day. 


FESTIVALS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 


CHAPTER  EIGHTEEN. 


CCORDING  to  the  Spanish  calendar  in  my 
possession,  there  is  a festival  for  every  day 
in  the  year.  There  are  services  every  morn- 
ing at  seven,  every  evening  at  five  ; often 
there  are  special  grand  festivals.  The  Jaro 
church  has  a wax  figure  of  the  Savior  and  this  figure  is 
dressed  for  various  festivals  in  various  ways  ; sometimes 
in  evening  dress,  with  white  shirt,  diamond  stud,  rings 
on  the  fingers,  patent  leather  shoes,  and  a derby  hat. 
This  figure  was  placed  on  a large  platform  and  either 
carried  on  the  shoulders  of  men  or  put  on  a wragon  and 
drawn  by  men.  Once  I saw  the  cart  pushed  along  by  a 
bull  at  the  rear.  This  procession  would  form  at  the 
Cathedral  door,  march  around  the  square  and  then 
usually  go  three  or  four  blocks  down  toward  the  house 
where  the  priest  lived,  and  by  that  time  it  would  be 
very  nearly  dark  and  they  would  light  their  candles  and 
return  and  go  about  the  square  again  before  going  into 
the  Cathedral. 

(Ill) 


I 12 


AN  OHIO  WOMAN  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 


Sometimes  the  figure  was  dressed  in  royal  robes  with 
long  purple  mantle  and  gilded  crown  upon  the  head  ; on 
Good  Friday  it  lay  in  a white  shroud  as  if  in  death  ; on 
Easter  day  it  was  arrayed  in  flowing  white  robes  and  was 
brought  from  the  cemetery  into  town  and  borne  at  the 
head  of  a great  parade.  Those  who  could  afford  to  do  so 
would  set  up  a special  shrine  in  front  of  their  homes, 
adorned  with  flowers  and  household  images.  The  priest 
would,  as  a special  favor,  have  special  services  before 
these  shrines,  and  the  more  money  spent  on  these  shrines 
and  the  more  paid  to  the  priest  the  more  distinguished 
the  citizen.  For  days  before  the  natives  were  busy  mak- 
ing long  candles  out  of  caribou  tallow.  Some  of  these 
candles,  huge  and  crude,  would  weigh  four  or  five 
pounds.  None  of  the  so-called  common  people  or  the 
poor  class  would  take  part  in  any  of  these  wonderful 
parades  unless  they  were  able  to  wear  good  clothes  and 
have  long  trains  to  their  dresses.  I never  saw  any  one 
in  these  processions  who  was  at  all  poor  ; the  poor  simply 
stand  by  the  roadside  and  look  on.  I asked  my  Filipino 
woman  why  she  did  not  join  ; she  said  she  would  just  as 
soon  as  she  could  get  a dress  with  a train.  It  was  not 
many  weeks  before  she  was  in  the  procession,  having  earned 
the  train  by  laundry  work  for  the  officers  and  soldiers.  For 
the  men,  it  was  their  joy  to  be  able  to  purchase  a derby 
hat.  I never  knew  there  could  be  so  many  kinds  of  der- 
bies as  I saw  on  the  heads  of  these  natives.  It  was  said 
that  a ship-load  of  them  was  brought  over  once,  and 
they  so  charmed  the  male  population  that  from  that  time 
on  they  all  aspired  to  own  a derby,  no  matter  how 


FESTIVALS  OF  THE  CHURCH 


113 

ancient  its  appearance  or  of  what  color  it  might  be.  And 
no  matter  if  they  did  not  have  a shirt  to  their  back,  if 
they  had  on  a good  stiff  derby  hat,  they  were  dressed 
for  any  occasion  and  to  appear  before  anybody. 

The  priests  wear,  first,  a long,  plain  white  robe,  over 
this  a black  cassock,  then  a white  cotta;  and  the  more 
richly  it  is  embroidered  the  better  they  like  it.  There 
was  with  this  white  cotta  a white  petticoat  plain  at  the 
top  and  ruffled  at  the  bottom.  I did  not  know  the  names 
of  the  outer  vestments  but  they  were  all  embroidered.  I 
offered  to  buy  one  of  the  heavily  embroidered  vestments 
from  a priest  but  he  refused,  saying  that  it  was  very 
hard  to  get  that  kind  of  cloth  embroidered  so  beautifully. 
He  gave  me  one  of  the  Filipino  skirts  ; it  was  badly 
worn,  but  I kept  it  as  a curiosity.  Not  knowing  very 
much  about  the  Roman  church,  there  were  a great  many 
things  done  every  day  that  I could  not  understand  ; for 
instance,  when  a priest  went  out  in  a closed  carriage  at- 
tended by  two  or  three  boys  he  would  come  from  the 
church  door  with  one  of  the  boys  in  front  of  him  ringing 
a bell  vigorously.  He  would  ring  this  bell  just  as  hard 
as  he  could  until  the  priest  would  get  inside  with  his 
attendants  and  then  they  would  drive  away.  When 
they  returned  they  would  go  through  this  same  perfor- 
mance of  ringing  this  bell  until  they  got  inside  of  the 
church.  I saw  this  many  times  and  once  asked  a Roman 
Catholic  soldier  what  it  meant ; he  said  he  did  not  know. 

It  may  be  that  these  people  need  to  be  terrorized  by 
the  oriests ; certain  it  is  that,  when  a priest  walks 
through  the  village  or  when  any  of  the  people  see  him, 


1 14  AN  OHIO  WOMAN  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

they  kneel  and  kiss  his  hand,  if  he  is  so  gracious  as  to 
honor  them  with  the  privilege.  The  people  bow  down 
before  him  and  reverence  him  though  he  may  at  any 
moment  lift  his  cane  and  give  them  a good  whack  over 
the  head  or  shoulders.  I never  saw  this  done,  but 
several  of  our  men  told  me  they  had  seen  it ; and  one 
captain  told  me  that  he  saw  the  priest  take  a huge  bam- 
boo pole  and  knock  a man  down  because  he  failed  to  get 
into  the  procession  in  double-quick  time.  They  do  lit- 
erally rule  these  people  with  the  rod. 


OSTEOPATHY. 


CHAPTER  NINETEEN. 


N 1895,  for  the  benefit  of  one  dearer  to  me 
than  life,  I went  to  Kirksville,  Mo.,  and 
from  Dr.  A.  T.  Still  learned  something  of 
the  principles  and  practice  of  his  great  art. 
The  subject  grew  in  interest ; I became  a 
regular  student  of  the  American  School  of  Osteopathy, 
and,  in  time,  completed  the  course  and  took  the  decree. 
In  the  islands  it  was  a great  pleasure  to  me  to  help  our 
sick  soldiers  ; scores  of  them,  with  touching  gratitude, 
have  blessed  the  use  that  I made  of  my  hands  upon 
them.  Officers  and  men  came  daily  for  treatment.  Soon 
the  Filipinos  came,  too.  Women  walked  many  miles 
carrying  their  sick  children  ; the  blind  and  lame  besought 
me  to  lay  my  hands  upon  them.  It  was  noised  about 
that  I had  divine  power.  My  door  was  beset.  I gladly 
gave  relief  where  I could,  but  for  the  most  of  them  help 
was  one  hundred  years  too  late. 

I recall  with  special  pleasure  one  successful  case.  A 
woman  came  to  me  who  said  she  had  walked  forty  miles 

to  bring  her  sick  child  ; for  compensation  she  offered  a 
8 (115) 


I 1 6 AN  OHIO  WOMAN  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

pigeon  and  three  eggs.  I could  not  look  out  of  my  win- 
dow without  seeing  some  poor  sick  native  squatted  on  the 
ground  waiting  to  see  if  I could  do  anything  for  her  sick 
child  or  herself.  The  natives  when  burning  up  with 
fever  think  they  dare  not  wash  their  bodies  ; they  will 
lie  hopeless  and  passive  on  the  ground  or  on  a small  bam- 
boo mat.  It  is  pitiable  to  see  them  so  utterly  destitute  ; 
not  one  single  thing  that  would  go  to  make  up  a bed  or 
pillow,  nor  do  they  seem  to  have  any  mode  of  taking 
care  of  their  sick  at  all. 

Our  army  hospitals  were  very  well  kept,  indeed,  but 
it  was  a great  struggle  to  get  help  enough  and  to  get  the 
things  needed  for  hundreds  of  sick  soldiers.  There  were 
many  large  buildings,  but  as  soon  as  the  government  at- 
tempted to  purchase  them,  the  Filipinos  asked  exorbi- 
tant prices.  And  then  the  sanitary  conditions  are  such 
that  it  is  hard  to  establish  hospitals  anywhere.  I read 
with  great  pleasure  that  the  capitol  of  Luzon  will  be  on 
a plateau  in  the  mountains  where  the  temperature  will 
be  lower,  the  air  better,  and  the  water  purer. 

I am  sure  that  Americans  can  live  in  the  Philippines  ; 
I know  that  the  resources  of  the  islands  are  vast,  espec- 
ially in  agricultural  and  mineral  products  ; that  we  have, 
indeed,  acquired  in  our  new  possessions  immeasurable 
riches. 

As  soon  as  any  Filipino  wishes  to  become  a friend 
and  to  impress  you  that  he  is  rich  and  has  vast  posses- 
sions, the  entire  family,  father,  mother,  and  children, 
will  call  and  bring  quantities  of  fruits,  fine  clothes, 
carved  shells,  and  native  pearls  with  curiously  wrought 


OSTEOPATHY 


I 17 


gold  settings,  and  present  them  with  great  earnestness  of 
manner  and  many  words  of  praise.  They  tell  you  what 
great  value  they  place  upon  your  friendship,  and  that  of 
all  the  people  in  all  the  world  you  are  the  one  person  that 
they  do  most  ardently  believe  in,  and  finally  that  they 
consider  you  the  greatest  acquisition  to  their  islands. 

A Filipino  general  and  his  wife  came  again  and  again 
to  see  me ; they  brought  a magnificent  sunburst  of  dia- 
monds which  they  urged  me  to  accept  with  their  greatest 
love  and  affection.  I declined  positively  and  absolutely. 
They  seemed  very  much  downcast  that  I would  not  ac- 
cept this  little  token  of  their  deep  affection.  They  went 
home,  but  in  about  two  hours  came  back,  brought  the 
diamonds,  and  again  urged  and  urged  so  strongly  that  I 
finally  consented  to  let  the  wife  pin  the  elegant  brooch 
on  my  dress  ; perhaps  I should  find  out  the  hidden  mean- 
ing of  this  excessive  devotion.  As  soon  as  the  officer  in 
command  returned,  I told  him  of  the  gift,  of  my  refusal, 
and  of  their  return.  A written  note  was  hastily  sent  to 
the  general  that  he  must  come  and  remove  the  brooch  at 
once.  Fearing  the  wrath  of  the  officer,  he  came  immedi- 
ately and  I returned  the  diamonds.  Even  after  this  the 
family  renewed  their  efforts.  I found  out  afterwards 
that  the  general  had  violated  his  oath  of  allegiance  ; his 
bribe  was  to  buy  my  influence  with  the  commanding 
officer. 

It  was  evident  that  many  of  the  better  class  of  natives, 
in  spite  of  oath  and  fair  face,  were  directing  and  main- 
taining the  murderous  bands  of  banditti.  Often  letters 
were  found  that  the  Filipino  generals  had  written  to  their 


1 1 8 


AN  OHIO  WOMAN  IN  THE  PHIEIPPINES 


women  friends  in  Jaro,  Iloilo  and  Molo,  to  sell  their 
jewels,  to  sell  all  they  could,  to  buy  guns,  ammunition, 
and  food,  and  later  other  letters  were  captured  full  of  the 
thanks  of  the  Filipino  army  for  these  gifts.  While  the 
good  Filipinos  were  taking  the  oath  of  allegiance  with 
the  uplifted  right  hand,  the  left  was  much  busier  sending 
supplies  to  the  insurrectos. 

The  hypocrisy  of  the  upper  classes  was  matched  by 
their  cruelty.  A native  of  prominence  was  gracious 
enough  upon  one  occasion  to  direct  a party  of  officers  on 
their  way.  He  was  attended  by  his  servant  who  walked 
or  ran  the  entire  distance  carrying  a heavy  load  sus- 
pended partly  from  his  shoulders,  and  partly  by  a strap 
about  the  forehead. 

The  servant  failed  to  start  with  the  party,  but  in  a 
short  time  he  caught  up  by  running  swiftly.  The  mas- 
ter calmly  got  off  his  horse,  motioned  to  the  servant  to 
drop  his  load,  and  proceeded  to  beat  the  man  unmerci- 
fully with  a cane  made  out  of  fish  tail,  a sword-like,  cruel, 
barbed  affair,  about  four  feet  long.  The  poor  servant 
never  uttered  a cry.  As  soon  as  possible  the  officers  in- 
terfered and  stopped  the  torture.  So  bloody  and  faint 
was  the  poor  victim  that  they  gave  him  a horse  to  ride. 
The  master  was  angry,  declared  he  would  not  have  his 
authority  questioned  and  left  the  party. 

A ball  was  given  in  the  town  of  Jaro  by  the  officers 
who  were  there  and  in  the  town  of  Iloilo.  Army,  navy, 
ladies,  and  nurses  from  the  hospital  were  invited.  It  was 
considered  quite  an  unusual  thing  to  do  at  this  time,  as 
the  Filipino  soldiers  were  near  at  hand  day  and  night, 


OSTEOPATHY 


119 

approaching  and  firing  upon  the  town.  One  of  the  Fili- 
pino women  said,  “ I do  not  see  how  the  American  offi- 
cers dare  congregate  at  so  dangerous  a time.  ’ ’ The  men 
decorated  the  huge  ball  room  with  magnificent  palms  and 
ferns  which  they  had  gathered  and  put  up  many  flags. 
The  regimental  band  was  stationed  on  the  porch  at  the 
rear  of  the  building.  It  was,  altogether,  a very  fine 
gathering,  and  all  went  merry  ‘ 1 as  the  marriage  bell.  ’ ’ 
There  was  a German  on  the  dance  programme  that 
was  to  end  in  a mock  capture.  Not  thinking  that  it 
might  occasion  alarm,  at  a certain  point,  some  of  the  sol- 
diers were  instructed  to  fire  off  some  cannon  crackers  ; in 
addition  the  soldiers  thought  it  would  be  just  as  well  to 
fire  off  a few  pistols.  The  surprise  was  very  great.  The 
colonel  of  a volunteer  regiment  nearby  heard  the  commo- 
tion and  gave  orders  for  the  company  to  turn  out  and  find 
out  where  this  fusillade  was  occurring,  not  supposing  that 
it  could  be  in  private  quarters.  The  Presidente  of  the 
town  was  greatly  alarmed,  as  he  was  expecting  any 
moment  to  be  captured  for  serving  under  the  U.  S.  gov- 
ernment as  head  man  of  a town.  The  firing  created  a 
great  commotion,  people  ran  hither  and  thither  to  find 
out  where  the  battle  was  going  on  ; the  musicians,  who 
did  not  understand  about  the  firing,  were  frightened, 
too  ; there  was  a call  to  arms  and  great  commotion.  But 
soon  explanations  came,  and  immediately  it  was  on  with 
the  dance.  It  was  a huge  joke,  and  when  the  sentry  told 
that  a colonel  and  his  wife  were  the  most  frightened  of 
all,  barricading  their  doors  and  having  extra  guards  placed 
around,  the  merriment  knew  no  bounds. 


120 


AN  OHIO  WOMAN  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 


It  was  seldom  that  the  officers  had  any  of  these  recep- 
tions or  balls,  but  when  they  did  everybody  felt  they 
must  attend,  and  those  taking  part  in  the  dance  enjoyed 
themselves  very  much.  Sometimes  the  officers  would 
charter  a small  steamer  and  go  to  one  of  the  nearby  isl- 
ands, but  it  was  rarely  they  could  do  so,  because  of  the 
skulking  natives  and  their  manner  of  signaling  where 
these  parties  landed,  making  it  unsafe  for  any  but  large 
companies  to  attend  these  excursions. 

It  was  often  the  duty  of  our  officers  and  men  to  stop 
the  cruelties  they  saw  practiced  upon  dumb  brutes.  I 
have  in  mind  the  way  pigs  were  brought  to  market,  their 
forefeet  across  a bamboo  pole  and  their  heads  bound  so 
that  they  could  not  squeal,  and  in  this  uncomfortable 
way  they  were  carried  many  miles.  Of  the  many  stories 
that  were  told  of  the  cruelties  our  soldiers  perpetrated 
upon  the  helpless  Filipinos,  I do  not  believe  one  word  ; 
indeed,  our  men  were  constantly  assisting  the  natives  in 
every  way  possible. 

On  the  4th  of  July,  1900,  our  officers  decided  to 
tender  a reception  to  the  Filipino  families  whose  hospi- 
talities they  had  enjoyed.  They  issued  invitations  and 
decorated  their  quarters  in  fine  shape  with  flags,  bunting, 
palms,  and  pictures.  It  was  quite  the  talk  of  the  town. 
The  beauty  and  chivalry  of  the  island  were  there.  For 
refreshments  they  served  commissary  supplies  with  ice 
cream  and  cake.  The  guests  thought  it  a very  poor  ban- 
quet for  such  pretentious  people  as  the  officers  were. 
The  Filipinos  always  have  a ten  or  twelve  course  meal  at 
twelve  o’clock  at  their  dances,  especially  when  they  have 


osteopathy 


1 2 I 


festivals  or  wedding  banquets.  There  were  many  of 
these  given.  I could  often  watch  the  throng  from  my 
window  ; they  went  at  this  particular  kind  of  hilarity  in 
the  same  listless,  slow,  silent  manner  in  which  they  did 
everything.  The  popular  dance  is  the  “Rigadon.” 
There  is  a great  deal  of  swinging  of  couples  and  going 
forward  and  back.  None  of  the  common  people  seem  to 
indulge  in  any  form  of  a dance,  so  far  as  I could  learn. 

We  invited  upon  several  occasions  some  Filipino  men 
and  women  to  dine  with  us,  and  it  was  interesting  to 
hear  their  remarks  about  various  dishes  we  had  prepared 
for  them.  They  would  ask  questions  concerning  the 
preparations.  Mince  pies,  which  we  made  of  canned 
meat  and  canned  apples,  were  a source  of  great  wonder ; 
they  would  ask  where  they  could  get  the  fruit  for  that 
kind  of  a pudding.  I know  that  they  made  wry  faces  at 
some  dishes,  and  I know  that  we  did  ourselves,  for  some 
of  them  were  beyond  comparison  ; no  chef  in  all  the 
world  could  produce  a good  thing  out  of  such  materials. 

The  May  festival  was  given  by  the  children,  chiefly 
by  the  little  girls  of  the  cathedral  congregation.  The 
leader  was  a woman  of  fine  character  and  standing.  She 
worked  hard  every  day  with  these  little  tots  to  train 
them  to  do  their  parts  well,  which  consisted  of  marching 
into  the  cathedral  by  twos’ , arranging  themselves  into  a 
circle  about  the  Virgin  Mother  and  throwing  flowers  and 
bouquets,  singing  and  speaking.  The  ludicrous  part  of 
it  all  was  that  these  little  things  were  supposed  to  be 
dressed  like  American  children.  The  models  had  been 
taken  from  some  old  magazine, — huge  sleeves,  small 


122 


AN  OHIO  WOMAN  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 


waists,  skirt  to  the  knees,  and  pantlets  to  the  top  of  shoes. 
The  shoes  were  painfully  tight  and  the  little  feet,  unac- 
customed to  being  held  in  such  close  quarters,  limped 
and  hobbled  piteously.  The  festival  was  carried  on  every 
day  for  weeks.  Bushels  of  flowers  were  thrown  at  the 
figure  of  the  Blessed  Virgin. 

Some  of  the  festivals  in  the  larger  cathedrals  in 
Manila  were  gorgeous  indeed.  There  were  floats  on 
which  were  carriqd  the  different  patron  saints,  all  gor- 
geously arrayed  in  the  most  magnificent  costumes.  Evi- 
dently the  churches  were  never  meant  for  the  common  or 
poor  people,  so  few  of  them  were  ever  seen  within  their 
walls ; but  without  were  vast  crowds  of  beggars,  of  the 
blind,  the  deformed,  the  deseased  ; victims  of  smallpox  and 
of  leprosy  in  every  stage  of  suffering.  It  is  said  that  the 
first  thing  ordered  by  Bishop  Brent,  who  took  charge  of 
the  Protestant  Episcopal  church  in  the  Philippines, 
was  soap. 


THE  McKINEEY  CAMPAIGN. 


CHAPTER  TWENTY. 

HE  excitement  on  the  islands  ran  quite  high 
during  the  McKinley-Bryan  campaign.  The 
natives  conceived  that  if  Bryan  were  elected 
they  could,  in  some  way,  they  could  not  ex- 
plain how,  not  only  be  very  greatly  benefited 
personally,  but  the  U.  S.  troops  would  be  withdrawn  ; 
they  would  then  be  rid  not  only  of  the  Spaniards  but  of 
the  Americans,  and  could  then  have  a ruler  of  their  own 
choosing. 65 1 knew  that  there  were  small  papers  or  bul- 
letins published  to  intensify  these  sentiments.  Popular 
favor  was  all  for  Bryan  and  not  one  person  for  McKin- 
ley, while  on  the  other  hand  I do  not  think  there  was  a 
single  soldier  who  was  not  a McKinley  man.  The  feel- 
ing ran  high,  and,  while  our  papers  gave  us  every  assur- 
ance that  the  Republican  party  would  be  victorious,  we 
were  very  anxious  for  the  news.  On  the  night  of  the 
6th  of  November  we  had  the  glorious  report.  It  did  not 
take  long  for  the  shouts  to  go  up  from  every  American 
soldier.  About  eleven  o’clock  p.  m.  all  the  American 

officers  and  men  formed  in  procession  with  the  band  at 

(123) 


124 


AN  OHIO  WOMAN  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 


the  head  ; they  came  around  to  the  house  where  I was 
staying  and  called  out,  “ Come,  Mrs.  Conger,  you  must 
join  in  this  jubilee.”  I did  not  need  a second  invita- 
tion. Snatching  my  little  American  flag  that  I take 
wherever  I go,  I formed  in  line  with  the  boys.  We 
marched  around  and  around  the  park,  cheering,  singing 
patriotic  songs,  and  hurrahing  for  McKinley.  In  front 
of  one  of  the  houses  where  I knew  they  were  the  most 
bitter  toward  the  Americans,  we  cheered  lustily.  I had 
been  there  only  a few  days  before  to  purchase  a Jusi 
dress  for  Mrs.  McKinley.  I said  that  I would  like  one 
of  their  very  best  weaves,  as  it  would  go  to  the  White 
House  to  Mrs.  McKinley.  With  a great  deal  of  scorn 
in  her  voice  and  manner  she  declared  she  would  not  make 
it.  We  continued  on  our  march  through  and  around  the 
town  until  after  one  o’clock,  when  I returned  to  my 
room.  I was  about  to  retire  when  a detachment  from 
the  Scouts  came  and  said,  ‘‘Oh,  Mrs.  Conger,  we  want 
you  to  come  over  to  the  park,  we  are  going  to  have  a big 
bonfire.”  So  I went  over  and  we  had  another  jollifica- 
tion, hurrahing,  singing,  shouting  for  McKinley,  until  we 
made  ourselves  hoarse.  We  burned  up  all  the  old  debris 
that  we  could  gather  and  plenty  of  bamboo,  which  makes 
a cracking  noise,  quite  like  a roll  of  musketry.  From 
every  window  and  crevice  in  every  house  about  that  park 
native  heads  were  gazing  at  us,  and  never  one  cheer 
came  from  a single  throat,  but  we  gave  them  to  under- 
stand in  no  uncertain  terms  where  we  stood.  I suppose 
they  thought  it  was  only  one  more  unheard  of  thing  for 
a woman  to  do,  to  be  out  marching  and  singing,  and  I 


THE  MCKINLEY  CAMPAIGN 


125 


am  sure  they  thought  “ Senora  Blanco,”  the  name  I was 
called  by  the  people  all  over  the  Island  of  Panay,  had 
gone  mad  ; and  I was  certainly  doing  unheard  of  things, 
for,  as  I said  before,  it  is  not  considered  at  all  proper  for 
a woman  to  be  walking  or  riding  with  a man.  And  to 
think  that  a woman  of  my  years,  and  the  only  American 
woman  in  that  part  of  the  country,  would,  at  such  an  hour, 
be  marching  with  those  hundreds  of  boys  in  the  dead  of 
night  was  wholly  beyond  their  comprehension,  and  they 
had  no  words  adequate  to  express  their  disgust  at  my 
outburst  of  enthusiasm  and  patriotism. 


GOVERNOR  TAFT  AT  JARO. 


CHAPTER  TWENTY-ONE. 

HEN  Governor  Taft  and  other  members  of 
the  peace  commission  were  expected  at 
Iloilo  and  Jaro,  there  were  great  prepara- 
tions for  several  weeks  before  hand.  The 
guests  came  to  Jaro  for  a morning  recep- 
tion at  the  home  of  one  of  the  wealthy  citizens.  The 
house  had  been  beautifully  decorated  and  the  refresh- 
ments were  served  in  the  large  room  at  the  left  of  the 
hall ; the  buffet  luncheon  consisted  of  every  kind  of  cake 
and  sweetmeats,  champagne,  wine,  and  beer.  The  Fili- 
pino guests  were  in  the  large  front  room,  seated  in  rows, 
six  or  eight  rows,  perhaps  twenty  in  a row,  with  their 
backs  to  each  other  or  facing  each  other. 

I was  the  only  American  woman  there  until  Mrs. 
Taft  and  other  ladies  with  the  peace  commission  arrived. 
Not  wishing  to  sit  solemnly  in  line  gazing  at  these  newly 
acquired  sisters  of  mine,  I ventured  some  remarks  in 
Spanish  about  the  weather  and  the  coming  guests. 
There  was  little  response.  My  curiosity  getting  the  bet- 
ter of  me,  I made  bold  to  examine  the  gowns  of  these 
(126) 


JARO  AT  TIME  OF  RECEPTION  TO  GOVERNOR  W.  H.  TAFT  AND  PARTY. 


GOVERNOR  TAFT  AT  JARO 


127 


women  for  I had  seldom  seen  before  such  handsome  ma- 
terial, rich  brocaded  satins,  cloth  of  gold  wrought  with 
seed  pearls  and  jewels ; huge  strings  of  pearls  on  the 
neck,  diamond  and  pearl  rings  on  the  fingers  and  very 
handsome  ornaments  in  the  hair  ; every  head  bore  a huge 
pompadour  and  every  face  was  heavily  powdered  ; the 
perfume  was  stifling  even  with  every  window  stretched 
to  the  fullest  extent.  Each  woman  carried  a handsome 
fan  and  each  was  attended  by  at  least  one  servant.  After 
waiting  in  this  rigid  company  manner  about  an  hour  and 
a half,  the  distinguished  guests  arrived.  We  were  then 
entertained  by  some  of  the  local  artists  and  celebrities. 
There  was  vocal  and  instrumental  music  ; a fine  grand 
piano,  very  good  violins,  and  the  concert  was  by  far 
the  best  music  I had  heard  in  the  islands. 

At  1 130  we  were  all  carried  over  in  carriages  to  the  house 
of  the  Presidente  and  thirty-five  of  us  sat  down  to  a very 
sumptuous  banquet  of  about  eighteen  courses.  The  menu 
of  soup,  fish,  game,  birds,  salads,  was  very  quickly  served, 
a waiter  for  each  guest.  The  table  was  furnished  with 
much  silver  and  cut  glass,  and  at  each  plate  was  a bou- 
quet holder  with  napkin  ring  attached  ; there  were  after- 
dinner  speeches  by  Governor  Taft,  Judge  Wright,  and 
others  ; then  v/e  were  ushered  into  the  large  drawing- 
room where  coffee  and  cigars  were  served.  The  room 
had  been  especially  prepared  by  the  labor  of  many  days 
spent  on  tacking  flags  on  the  ceiling  and  side  walls,  mak- 
ing a very  beautiful  effect.  There  were  huge  bunches 
of  artificial  flowers.  For  the  entertainment  at  this  house, 
all  the  Filipino  bands  from  the  surrounding  towns  were 


128 


AN  OHIO  WOJIAN  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 


massed  together.  Governor  Taft  complimented  his  hosts 
upon  their  very  delightful  “ eutretener,”  and  said  he 
had  seen  nothing  to  compare  with  it  for  elegance  and  en- 
thusiastic welcome  since  he  had  been  on  the  islands.  At 
every  corner  of  the  plaza  there  were  erected  handsome 
bamboo  arches  and  booths,  and  every  strip  of  bunting 
and  every  flag  that  could  be  got  out  were  waving  in  Jaro 
on  this  great  day  of  inauguration  of  the  Civil  Commis- 
sion on  the  Island  of  Panay.  To  me  it  seemed  anything 
but  a peaceful  time  as  the  scouts  were  then  out  after  a 
very  desperate  band  of  insurrectos,  but  I have  never  seen 
anywhere  more  beautiful  ornamentation  or  more  lavish 
display  of  wealth,  and  yet  there  was  lacking  in  it  all  the 
genuine  ring  of  • cordiality  and  enthusiasm.  In  Iloilo 
there  were  many  receptions  and  various  kinds  of  enter- 
tainments given.  Governor  Taft  invited  leading  citizens 
out  to  the  ship  where  he  returned  the  compliment  with 
refreshments,  good  cheer,  and  a salute. 

In  writing  of  my  life  in  the  islands,  I must  mention 
incidents  of  serious  nature  and  yet  of  common  happening. 
Almost  daily  would  come  an  instant  call  for  troops  to 
mount  and  ride  post  haste  by  night  or  day  after  some  of 
these  worse  than  lawless  bands  of  Filipinos.  One  even- 
ing while  we  were  at  dinner  we  had  as  our  guest  a Lieu- 
tenant of  one  of  the  volunteer  regiments.  He  had  been 
ill  and  had  spent  the  time  of  his  convalescence  in  acquir- 
ing some  of  the  manifold  Filipino  dialects,  about  sixty  in 
all,  it  is  said.**  He  was  detailed  by  the  commanding  offi- 
cer to  visit  some  of  the  inland  villages  and  inspect  the 
schools  and  inquire  generally  after  the  condition  of  the 


GOVERNOR  TAFT  AT  JARO 


129 


people.  He  told  us  that  evening  that  he  intended  to 
make  quite  an  extensive  tour  around  the  island  of  Panay 
in  the  interest  of  the  schools.  “ You  are  going  to  take  a 
strong  guard,  of  course?”  we  asked.  ‘‘Anyone  going 
on  such  a peaceful  mission  as  mine  would  not  need  even 
an  orderly,  but  I will  take  an  orderly  to  assist  in  carry- 
ing the  books  and  pamphlets.”  The  very  next  evening 
while  we  were  at  dinner,  word  was  brought  that  this 
splendid  young  man  had  been  killed  not  three  miles  from 
where  we  were  sitting.  In  a few  minutes  men  mounted 
and  wTere  off  to  the  scene  of  the  murder.  In  a nearby 
hut  the  young  officer  lay  dead.  He,  who  had  so  trust- 
ingly confided  in  these  ‘‘peaceful  people,”  had  fallen  the 
victim  of  his  noble  impulses.  Every  article  of  any  value 
had  been  taken  from  his  body  except  a little  watch  that 
he  carried  in  a small  leather  case  on  his  wrist ; he  had 
bought  it  that  very  day  to  send  to  his  wife.  No  trace  of 
the  “ insurrectos,”  the  murderers,  was  ever  found.  A 
native  woman  said  the  officer  was  riding  peacefully  along 
with  his  orderly  at  his  side  when  suddenly  they  w'ere 
stopped  by  a volley  of  balls.  The  Lieutenant  turned,  as 
did  also  the  orderly ; their  horses  took  fright,  one  rider 
was  thrown,  probably  already  dead,  the  other  escaped. 
The  funeral  rites  of  our  noble  soldier  were  conducted  with 
military  honors  ; the  body  was  sent  home  to  his  bereaved 
wife  and  family. 

One  day  a missionary  was  on  his  way  from  town  to 
town  ; he  had,  unfortunately,  an  orderly  with  him.  Pie 
was  stopped  and  asked  his  business  ; he  replied  that  he  was 
a missionary.  ‘‘Why  carry  a gun?”  was  the  scornful 


130 


AN  OHIO  WOMAN  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 


retort.  He  was  stripped  of  everything  of  value  but 
was  allowed  to  return.  The  soldier  did  not  fare  so  well ; 
he  was  killed  before  the  rescuing  party  could  reach  him. 
A detachment  was  sent  out  one  day  to  procure  some 
young  beef  for  sale  in  a nearby  village.  They  were  re- 
ceived with  open  arms  by  the  Presidente  of  the  village 
and  the  Padre  and  were  most  sumptuously  entertained. 
It  was  kindly  explained  that  they  had  no  young  cattle 
for  sale  but  that  about  a mile  further  on  there  were  some 
very  fine  young  calves  that  could  be  had  at  five  dollars 
in  gold. 

Not  thinking  of  any  treachery,  the  soldiers  mounted 
and  rode  about  a mile  beyond  the  village  into  a ravine 
which,  according  to  the  instructions,  led  to  the  cattle- 
field  beyond.  While  crossing  the  stream  in  the  bottom 
of  the  ravine,  the  men  were  startled  by  the  whiz  of  bul- 
lets and,  glancing  up,  found  the  steep  banks  lined  with 
insurrectos  who  had  opened  fire  without  a moment’s 
warning.  Our  men  entrapped,  surrounded,  were  ordered 
to  surrender.  For  answer  they  put  spurs  to  their  horses 
and  started  back  under  a heavy  fire.  Unfortunately  two 
of  the  fine  horses  were  shot ; their  riders  were  obliged  to 
run  afoot  the  rest  of  the  way  up  the  bank  and  were 
picked  up  by  their  comrades.  One  of  the  men  shouted, 
“ Sergeant,  don’t  you  hear  they  are  calling  for  us  to  sur- 
render? Say  are  you  going  to ? ” With  an  oath,  “No, 

not  by  a d d sight.  Run  and  fight.”  Which  they 

did  and  actually  got  away  from  hundreds  of  natives  and 
arrived  in  Jaro  breathless  and  weary,  the  horses  covered 
with  foam.  Not  a man  had  been  killed  or  wounded. 


GOVERNOR  TAFT  AT  JARO 


131 

Two  horses  were  killed  outright,  but  none  were  maimed. 
Soon  the  troop  was  in  the  saddle  and  out  after  those 
treacherous  miscreants.  Many  natives  were  arrested  and 
brought  to  town  and  then  it  was  found  that  this  loyal 
(?)  Presidente,  whom  the  commanding  general  had  had 
the  utmost  confidence  in  was  at  the  head  of  a number  of 
Filipino  companies  which  scoured  the  country  to  capture 
small  parties  of  our  soldiers.  As  the  investigations  were 
pressed  it  came  out  that  the  bodies  of  their  victims  had 
been  torn  to  pieces  and  buried  in  quicklime  that  there 
might  be  no  traces  left  of  their  treachery.  It  was  several 
weeks  before  the  full  facts  were  obtained  and  before  the 
mutilated  remains  of  our  soldiers  were  found  and  brought 
back  and  buried. 

The  volunteer  regiments  suffered  most  from  these 
brutal  cowards,  directed  and  urged  on  by  the  “ very  best 
men”  in  civil  and  “sacred”  office.  These  are  facts 
from  the  lips  of  U.  S.  officers,  men  who  do  not  lie.  Very 
often  the  troops  were  called  out  to  capture  these  bloody 
bands,  but  it  was  hard  to  locate  them  or  bring  them  to  a 
stand.  The  natives  knew  so  many  circuitous  ways  of 
running  to  cover  and  they  had  so  many  friends  to  aid 
them  that  it  was  almost  impossible  to  follow  them. 
Whenever  they  were  captured  they  were  so  surprised,  so 
humiliated,  so  innocent,  meek  and  subdued,  that  it  would 
never  occur  to  an  honest  man  that  they  could  know  how 
to  handle  a bolo  or  a gun.  But  experience  taught  that 
the  most  guileless  in  looks  were  the  worst  desperadoes  of 
all.  My  first  sight  of  a squad  of  these  captives  is  a thing 

not  to  be  forgotten.  They  were  a scrubby  lot  of  hardly 
9 


132  AN  OHIO  WOMAN  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

human  things,  stunted,  gnarled  pigmies,  with  no  hats  or 
shoes,  and  scarcely  a rag  of  clothing.  Their  cruel 
knives,  the  deadly  bolos,  were  the  only  things  they  could 
be  stripped  of.  I looked  down  upon  them  from  my  win- 
dow in  astonishment.  “It  is  not  possible,”  I exclaimed, 
“ that  these  miserable  creatures  are  samples  of  what  is 
called  the  Filipino  army.”  “Yes,”  an  officer  replied, 
“ these  are  the  fellows  that  never  fight;  that  only  stab 
in  the  back  and  mutilate  the  dying  and  dead.”  My  eyes 
turned  to  the  guard,  our  own  soldiers,  fine,  manly  fel- 
lows, who  fairly  represented  the  personnel  of  our  own 
splendid  army.  It  made  me  indignant  that  one  of  them 
should  suffer  at  the  hands  of  such  vermin  or  rather  at  the 
hands  of  the  religious  manipulators  who  stood  in  safety 
behind  their  ignorant  degraded  slaves. 


SHIPWRECK. 


CHAPTER  TWENTY-TWO 

HE  climate  seemed  beyond  physical  endurance, 
although  the  thermometer  ranged  no  higher 
than  from  ninety  to  one  hundred  ten,  but 
the  heat  was  continuous  night  and  day ; 
exhaustion  without  relief.  The  only  time 
that  one  could  get  a breath  was  about  five  o’clock  in  the 
morning;  in  the  middle  of  the  day  the  sun’s  rays  are 
white-hot  needles, — this  is  the  only  way  that  I can  ex- 
press it ; and  even  if  one  carries  an  umbrella,  the  heat 
pierces  directly  through.  From  the  first  of  November  to 
the  middle  of  December,  there  is  usually  about  six  or 
seven  hours  a day  of  comparative  comfort ; but  the  season 
is  too  short  to  brace  the  enervated  body.  One  day  the 
thermometer  fell  to  seventy-eight ; we  Americans  shivered 
and  craved  a fire,  so  much  did  we  feel  the  change  of 
temperature. 

I finally  learned  from  the  natives  that  it  is  not  best 
after  bathing,  to  rub  the  body  with  a towel ; and  indeed, 
following  them  more  closely,  that  it  is  wise  to  feed  with 

cocoanut  oil  the  famished  pores  of  the  skin  which  has 

(133) 


T34 


AN  OHIO  WOMAN  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 


been  weakened  by  excessive  exudation.  The  rainy 
season  begins  in  April,  usually,  and  gives  some  relief 
from  the  excessive  heat ; and  such  rains,  never  in  my 
life  had  I known  before  what  it  was  to  have  rain  come 
down  by  the  barrelful  ! The  two-story  house  in  which 
we  were  quartered  was  quite  solidly  built,  and  the  boards 
of  the  second  story  were  over-lapped  to  keep  out  the  rain  ; 
and  yet,  I have  often  had  to  get  up  on  the  bed  or  table 
while  the  water  poured  in  at  innumerable  unsuspected 
cracks  and  swept  the  floor  like  a torrent.  It  was  hard  to 
tell  which  frightened  one  the  most,  the  terrible  rain- 
storms or  the  awful  earthquakes.  In  the  house  there 
was  a magnificent  glass  chandelier.  The  first  time  we 
had  a severe  earthquake  that  chandelier  swayed  back  and 
forth  in  such  a wild  way  that  it  seemed  as  if  it  must  fall 
and  crush  every  prism,  tiny  light,  and  bell.  I felt  sure 
whenever  a quake  began  that  I should  not  live  through 
it.  The  flying  fragments  across  the  room,  the  creaking 
hard-wood  doors,  the  nauseating  feeling  that  everything 
under  foot  was  falling  away, — it  was  a frightful  exper- 
ience then,  it  is  a sickening  memory  now.  One  never 
gets  used  to  these  shocks  no  matter  how  many  occur ; 
the  more,  the  worse.  They  are  more  frequent  in  the 
night  than  in  the  day.  It  was  not  quite  so  bad  if  the 
wild  start  from  uneasy  slumber  was  followed  by  a cheery 
voice  calling,  “ Hello  there,  are  you  alive,  has  anything 
hurt  you,  has  anything  struck  ? ” Even  the  rats  are  ter- 
rified, and  the  natives,  almost  to  a soul,  leave  their  houses, 
congregate  in  the  middle  of  the  street,  and  begin  to  pray. 
Sometimes  a fierce  wind  from  the  north  brings  sad  havoc 


SHIPWRECK 


135 


to  the  hastily  built  bamboo  houses  ; a whole  street  of 
these  slightly  constructed  dwellings  is  toppled  over  or 
lies  aslant,  or  is  swept  away.  At  first  we  used  to  smile 
at  the  storm  signal  displayed  at  Iloilo.  If  the  sky  was 
clear  and  still,  we  would  start  out  confidently  on  some 
trip,  to  the  next  town  perhaps  ; before  we  had  gone  more 
than  a half  mile  we  would  be  drenched  through  and 
through  and  no  cloud,  not  even  as  big  as  a man’s  hand 
was  to  be  seen;  at  other  times  dense  clouds,  the  blackest 
clouds,  would  shut  down  close  upon  us, — such  are  the 
strange  variations.  No  sort  of  sailing  craft  ever  leaves 
the  port  when  the  signals  are  up  for  one  of  these  hurri- 
cane storms ; if  caught  out  in  them  they  put  instantly 
into  the  nearest  port.  Shipwrecks  are  frequent,  partly 
on  account  of  these  sudden  storms,  but  chiefly  on  account 
of  the  shifting  sands  of  the  course. 

From  Manila  to  Iloilo  on  a boat  that  had  been  pur- 
chased for  the  use  of  the  government,  I was,  on  one  oc- 
casion, the  only  passenger  on  board.  The  captain  had 
never  been  over  this  course  before,  but  he  was  confident 
of  getting  through  with  the  help  of  a Spanish  chart. 
About  two  o’clock  in  the  morning  I sprang  to  my  feet 
alarmed  by  the  harsh  grinding  of  the  boat’s  keel,  the 
scurrying  of  many  feet,  the  shouting  of  quick  orders. 
The  shock  of  the  boat  blew  out  all  lamps  ; in  the  dark- 
ness I opened  the  door  of  my  cabin  and  ran  to  find  the 
captain,  guided  by  his  voice.  I learned  that  we  were 
aground.  I asked  him  if  I could  help.  “Yes,  if  you 
can  carry  messages  to  the  engineer  and  translate  them 
into  Spanish.”  I ran  to  and  fro,  stumbling  up  or  down, 


136  AN  OHIO  WOMAN  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

forgetting  every  time  I passed  that  a certain  part  of  the 
ship  had  a raised  ledge.  The  effort  was  to  prop  the  boat 
with  spars  that  it  might  not  tip  as  it  crunched  and  set- 
tled down  upon  the  coral  reefs.  We  could  hardly  w7ait 
until  daylight  to  measure  the  predicament.  When  the 
light  grew7  clear  so  that  I saw  the  illuminated  wraters, 
there  was  a scene  of  new  and  w’onderful  beaut}7, — a gar- 
den of  the  sea,  a coral  grove.  Far  as  the  eye  could  reach 
there  w7as  every  conceivable  color,  shape,  and  kind  of 
coral, — pink,  green,  yellow,  and  w7hite.  It  all  looked  so 
safe  and  soft,  as  if  one  might  crush  it  in  the  hands ; and 
yet  these  huge  cakes  of  coral  w7ere  like  adamant,  except 
the  delicate  fern-like  spikes  that  w7ere  so  viciously  pierc- 
ing the  bottom  of  our  boat.  I saw7  all  kinds  of  sea  shells, 
the  lovely  nautilus  spreading  its  sails  on  the  surface,  and 
the  huge  devil-fish  sprawling  at  the  bottom  of  the  shallow 
pools,  with  its  many  tentacles  thrown  out  on  every  side. 

With  innumerable  ants,  swrnrms  of  mosquitoes,  lizards 
everywhere,  rats  by  the  million,  mice,  myriads  of  lan- 
goustas  or  grass- hoppers,  long  cockroaches,  squeaking 
bugs,  monkeys  that  stole  everything  they  could  lay  their 
hands  on,  the  fear  of  the  deadly  bolo,  the  dread  each 
night  of  w7aking  up  amid  flame  and  smoke,  earthquakes, 
tornadoes,  dreadful  thunders  and  lightnings,  torrents  of 
water,  life  sometimes  seemed  hard  ; each  new  day  was 
but  a repetition  of  yesterday,  and  I used  constantly  to 
rely  upon  the  assured  promises  — Psalms  XCI : 

‘ ‘ He  that  dwelleth  in  the  secret  place  of  the  most 
High  shall  abide  under  the  shadow  of  the  Almighty. 

“ I will  say  of  the  Lord,  he  is  my  refuge  and  my  fort- 
ress : my  God  : in  him  will  I trust. 


SHIPWRECK 


137 


* ‘ Surely  he  shall  deliver  thee  from  the  snare  of  the 
fowler,  and  from  the  noisome  pestilence. 

“ He  shall  cover  thee  with  his  feathers,  and  under  his 
wings  shalt  thou  trust ; his  truth  shall  be  thy  shield  and 
buckler. 

“ Thou  shalt  not  be  afraid  for  the  terror  by  night  ; 
nor  for  the  arrow  that  flieth  by  day  ; 

“ Nor  for  the  pestilence  that  walketh  in  darkness; 
nor  for  the  destruction  that  wasteth  at  noonday. 

“ A thousand  shall  fall  at  thy  side,  and  ten  thousand 
at  thy  right  hand  ; but  it  shall  not  come  nigh  thee. 

“ Only  with  thine  eyes  shalt  thou  behold  and  see  the 
reward  of  the  wicked. 

“ Because  thou  hast  made  the  Lord,  which  is  my 
refuge,  even  the  most  High,  thy  habitation; 

“ There  shall  no  evil  befall  thee,  neither  shall  any 
plague  come  nigh  thy  dwelling. 

“For  he  shall  give  his  angels  charge  over  thee,  to 
keep  thee  in  all  thy  ways. 

“ They  shall  bear  thee  up  in  their  hands,  lest  thou 
dash  thy  foot  against  a stone. 

“ Thou  shalt  tread  upon  the  lion  and  the  dragon  shalt 
thou  trample  under  feet. 

“ Because  he  hath  set  his  love  upon  thee,  therefore 
will  I deliver  him : I will  set  him  on  high,  because  he 
hath  known  my  name. 

“ He  shall  call  upon  me,  and  I will  answer  him  : I 
will  be  with  him  in  trouble  ; I will  deliver  him,  and 
honour  him. 


138  AN  OHIO  WOMAN  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

“With  long  life  will  I satisfy  him,  and  show  him 
my  salvation.” 

ihooking  down  from  my  window  every  day  into  the 
faces  of  six  or  more  dead  bodies  that  were  brought  to  the 
cathedral,  I knew  that  “The  pestilence  was  walking  in 
the  darkness.” 


CEMETERY  CRYPTS  FOR  THOSE  WHO  CAN  BUY  OR  RENT. 


FILIPINO  DOMESTIC  LIFE. 


CHAPTER  TWENTY-THREE. 


HE  houses  are  made  of  bamboo ; some  of 
them  are  pretty,  quite  artistic ; the  plain 
ones  cost  about  seventy-five  cents  each  ; no 
furniture  of  any  kind  is  needed.  The  native 
food  is  rice,  or,  as  it  is  called  in  the  verna- 
cular, “Sow-sow.”  It  is  cooked  in  an  earthen  pot  set 
upon  stones  with  a few  lighted  twigs  thrust  under  it  for 
fire.  When  it  is  eaten  with  nature’s  forks  — the  fin- 
gers— with  a relish  of  raw  fish,  it  is  the  chief  article 
of  diet. 

House-cleaning  is  one  thing  that  I never  saw  in  prac- 
tice or  evidence.  I took  a supply  of  lye  with  me  and  it 
was  a huge  joke  to  see  the  natives  use  it  in  cleaning 
the  floors. 

The  windows  are  made  of  oyster  shells  which  are  thin 
and  flat ; these  cut  in  three-inch  squares  make  a win- 
dow peculiarly  adapted  to  withstand  the  heavy  storms 
and  earthquakes  ; it  transmits  a pleasant  opalescent  light. 

Coffee  is  raised,  but  not  widely  used  by  the  natives ; 
they  prefer  chocolate. 


(1391 


140 


AN  OHIO  WOMAN  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 


After  many  unsuccessful  attempts,  I gave  up  trying 
to  have  my  dishes  washed  in  my  way  ; I soon  discovered 
that  the  servants  used  the  tea  towls  on  their  bodies.  This 
convinced  me,  and  I let  them  wash  mine  as  they  did  their 
own,  by  pouring  water  on  each  dish  separately,  rinsing 
and  setting  to  dry  on  the  porch  in  the  sun,  the  only  place 
where  the  vermin  would  not  crawl  over  them. 

The  irons  used  for  pressing  clothes  are  like  a smooth, 
round-bottomed  skillet,  the  inside  is  filled  with  lighted 
sticks  and  embers.  The  operator,  who  sits  on  the  floor, 
passes  this  smoking  mass  over  the  thing  to  be  pressed. 
The  article,  when  finished,  looks  as  if  it  had  been  sat  upon. 

One  Palm  Sunday  I visited  five  different  churches  in 
all  of  which  were  palms  in  profusion,  woven  into  almost 
innumerable  forms  ; fishes,  birds  in  and  out  of  cages, 
trees,  fruits,  flowers,  crosses,  crowns,  sceptres,  mitres, 
and  saints’  emblems.  The  cathedral  at  Arevalo  looked 
like  a huge  garden,  but,  in  one  second  after  it  had  been 
discovered  that  a white  woman  and  an  American  officer 
were  present,  the  entire  congregation,  rising,  turned  to 
look  at  us ; it  seemed  as  if  a whirlwind  were  sweeping 
the  palms,  so  nervous  were  the  hands  that  held  them. 

After  the  service,  the  crowd  came  out  and  vanished 
immediately,  fear  of  an  attack  having  overcome  their 
curiosity. 

Nearly  all  the  little  children  are  naked.  One  day  I 
saw  a little  fellow  about  three  years  old  who  was  suffer- 
ing severely  with  the  smallpox.  He  was  smoking  a 
huge  cigar  of  the  kind  the  natives  make  by  rolling  the 
natural  tobacco  leaf  and  tying  it  with  a bit  of  bamboo 


FILIPINO  DOMESTIC  LIFE 


1*1 

fibre.  He  did  look  ridiculous.  A native  teacher  told  me 
that  they  all  begin  to  smoke  when  about  two  years  old  ; 
poor,  little,  stunted,  starved  things,  fed  on  half  cooked 
rice  and  raw  fish. 

Drunkenness  is  comparatively  rare  among  the  natives  ; 
the  intoxicating  beverage  is  the  “ Tuba,”  which  is 
made  about  as  follows  : The  flowers  of  the  cocoanut  are 

cut  while  still  in  bud  and  the  sap,  or  “ Beno,”  caught  in 
a tube  of  bamboo  ; the  liquor  is  gathered  daily  as  we 
gather  maple  sap  and  fermented  by  the  addition  of  a 
piece  of  wood,  which  also  imparts  a slight  color.  The 
product  of  this  fermentation  is  an  insidious  stimulant.  I 
never  tasted  it,  but  one  poor  soldier  told  me  his  sad  ex- 
perience and  that  sufficed.  After  a particularly  hard 
march,  his  company  came  to  a halt  in  a village  ; he  asked 
for  water,  but  could  get  only  this  innocent  looking 
“ Beno  ; ” he  took  one  tiny  glass  ; it  tasted  like  cologne 
water  ; his  thirst  not  being  quenched,  he  took  a second 
and  a third  glass,  after  which  he  proceeded  to  make  a 
howling  mob  of  himself.  This,  since  it  happened  in  the 
face  of  the  enemy,  with  momentary  expectation  of  attack, 
was  a serious  offence  enough,  but  coupled  with  the  fact 
that  he  was  ‘‘on  guard”  at  the  time,  entailed  punish- 
ments, the  rigor  of  which,  can  be  guessed  only  by  those 
familiar  with  army  discipline. 

Once  a party  of  officers  and  men  were  going  from  one 
island  to  another,  carrying  money  and  food  for  the  sold- 
iers. It  was  found,  after  starting,  that  they  were  not  so 
heavily  guarded  as  they  should  be,  in  view  of  the  fact 
that  they  would  be  exposed  to  attack  when  in  the  narrow 


142 


AN  OHIO  WOMAN  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 


channels  between  the  islands.  At  one  point  where 
they  were  hemmed  in,  not  only  by  the  islands,  but  by  a 
number  of  sailing  crafts,  the  Captain,  a Filipino,  very 
seriously  asked  the  Paymaster  if  he  had  plenty  of  fire 
arms;  his  reply  was,  “Oh,  muchee  fusile,”  meaning, 
“Oh,  very  much  fire  arms.’’  To  add  to  the  horror  of 
the  situation  they  were  becalmed.  The  Captain  became 
very  much  alarmed  and  the  soldiers  more  so.  Strange  to 
relate,  there  came  a gale  of  wind  that  not  only  blew  them 
out  into  a wider  channel  beyond  the  reach  of  their  insur- 
recto  friends,  but  put  them  well  on  their  way.  This  was 
told  me  as  being  almost  like  a miracle.  No  one  can  ever 
realize  until  they  have  been  caught  in  one  of  these  terri- 
fic gales  what  their  severity  is.  I remember  one  blast 
that  tore  my  hair  down  and  swept  away  every  article  of 
loose  clothing,  also  some  things  that  I had  just  purchased; 
I never  saw  them  again.  It  would  not  occur  to  the 
natives  to  return  anything  that  they  found,  even  if  they 
knew  that  they  never  could  use  it ; they  all  professed 
friendship  to  my  face,  and  were  constantly  begging  for 
any  little  article  that  I might  have,  but  they  never  re- 
turned anything  they  saw  me  drop  or  that  had  been 
blown  away. 

We  had,  at  one  time,  a peace  society  formed,  there 
was  an  attendance  of  all  the  women  of  Jaro,  some  from 
Iloilo,  and  the  President  was  chosen  from  Molo.  I took 
pleasure  in  joining  this  society  for  the  maintenance  of 
peace  and  fraternal  feeling  with  the  Filipinos. 

One  day  I thought  it  my  duty  to  call  upon  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  new  peace  commission.  She  lived  in  the  town 


FILIPINO  DOMESTIC  LIFE 


143 


of  Molo.  I invited  a native  woman  to  accompany  me, 
and  secured  a guard  of  soldiers  and  an  interpreter.  Such 
a commotion  as  the  visit  created.  The  interpreter  ex- 
plained that  I had  called  to  pay  my  respects,  as  I was  the 
only  American  woman  who  had  joined  the  peace  society. 
The  President  wras  pale  with  fright  at  my  coming,  though 
I had  with  me  a woman  whom  she  knew  very  well.  After 
she  had  recovered  from  the  shock,  wre  had  a very  agree- 
able time.  She  called  in  some  of  her  family  ; one  daughter 
played  well  on  the  piano,  a large  grand,  and  another 
played  upon  the  violin.  In  the  meantime  refreshments 
were  served  in  lavish  profusion.  They  offered  mes  very 
handsome  cloths  and  embroideries,  which  I declined  with 
thanks.  It  is  a common  custom  to  make  presents. 

I had  agreed  with  this  Filipino  friend  to  exchange 
views  on  points  of  etiquette  and  social  manners.  She 
told  me  that  I had  committed  quite  a breach  of  propriety 
in  allowing  the  interpreter,  who  was  a soldier,  to  ride  on 
the  front  seat  of  the  carriage  ; that  it  would  become 
known  everywhere  that  she  and  I actually  had  a man  ride 
with  us.  It  is  not  customary  for  even  husbands  and 
wives  to  drive  together.  My  criticism  was,  “ We  do  not 
like  the  manner  of  your  ladies  expectorating.  In  America 
we  consider  it  a very  filthy  and  offensive  habit.”  She 
was  quite  surprised  that  we  were  so  very  particular  and 
asked  me  if  we  chewed  the  spittle. 

- A large  cathedral  wras  situated  just  across  the  street, 
a circumstance  that  enabled  me  to  witness  many  cere- 
monies of  the  Roman  church,  of  whose  existence  I had 
no  previous  knowledge  ; daily  services  were  held,  and  all 


144 


AN  OHIO  WOMAN  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 


the  Saints’  days  were  observed.  On  festivals  of  especial 
importance  there  were  very  gorgeous  processions.  The 
principal  features  were  the  bands  of  music,  the  choir, 
acolytes,  priests,  and  rich  people, — the  poor  have  no 
place  — all  arrayed  in  purple  and  fine  linen  ; gold,  silver, 
pearls,  and  rare  jewels  sparkled  in  the  sun  by  day,  or,  at 
night,  in  the  light  of  the  candles  and  torches  carried  by 
thousands  of  men,  women  and  children. 

It  was  a trying  experience  to  be  awakened  from  sound 
sleep  by  the  firing  of  guns.  It  was  necessary  to  be  always 
armed  and  ready  to  receive  the  “ peaceful  people.”  (We 
read  daily  in  the  American  papers  that  all  danger  was 
over. ) 

A characteristic  feature  of  each  town  is  a plaza  at 
its  center,  and  here  the  people  have  shrines  or  places  of 
worship  at  the  corners,  the  wealthier  people,  only,  hav- 
ing them  in  their  homes. 

Smallpox  is  a disease  of  such  common  occurrence 
that  the  natives  have  no  dread  of  it ; the  mortality  from 
this  one  cause  alone  is  appalling.  This  brings  to  mind 
the  funeral  ceremony,  which,  since  the  natives  are  all 
Catholics,  is  always  performed  by  the  padre  or  priest. 

In  red,  pink,  or  otherwise  gayly  decorated  coffin,  the 
corpse,  which  is  often  exposed  to  view  and  sometimes 
covered  with  cheap  paper  flowers,  bits  of  lace  and  jew- 
elry, is  taken  to  the  church,  where  there  are  already  as 
many  as  five  or  six  bodies  at  a time  awaiting  the  arrival 
of  the  priest  to  say  prayers  and  sprinkle  holy  water  upon 
them.  If  the  family  of  the  deceased  is  too  poor  to  buy 
or  rent  a coffin,  the  body  is  wrapped  in  a coarse  mat, 


FILIPINO  DOMESTIC  LIFE 


145 


slung  on  a pole,  and  carried  to  the  outer  door  of  the 
church,  to  have  a little  water  sprinkled  thereon  or  service 
said  over  it.  If  the  families  are  unable  to  rent  a spot  of 
earth  in  the  cemetery,  their  dead  are  dumped  into  a pile 
and  left  to  decay  and  bleach  upon  the  surface.  In  con- 
trast with  this  brutal  neglect  of  the  poor,  is  the  lavish 
expenditure  of  the  rich.  The  daughter  of  one  of  the 
wealthy  residents  having  died,  the  body  was  placed  in  a 
casket  elaborately  trimmed  with  blue  satin,  the  catafal- 
que also  was  covered  with  blue  satin  and  trimmed  with 
ruffles  of  satin  and  lace.  In  the  funeral  procession,  the 
coffin  was  carried  on  the  shoulders  of  several  young  men, 
while  at  the  sides  walked  young  ladies,  each  dressed  in  a 
blue  satin  gown  with  a long  train  and  white  veil,  and 
each  lavishly  decorated  with  precious  jewels.  They  held 
long,  blue  satin  ribbons  fastened  to  the  casket.  At  the 
door  of  the  church  the  casket  was  taken  in  charge  by 
three  priests,  attended  by  thirty  or  forty  choir  boys, 
acolytes,  and  others,  and  placed  upon  a black  pedestal 
about  thirty  feet  high  and  completely  surrounded  by 
hundreds  of  candles,  many  of  which  were  held  in  gilded 
figures  of  cherubim  ; the  whole  was  surmounted  by  a 
flambeau  made  by  immersing  cotton  in  alcohol.  The 
general  effect  was  of  a huge  burning  pile.  Incense  was 
burned  every  where  in  and  about  the  edifice,  which  was 
elaborately  decorated  with  .satin  festoons,  palms,  artifical 
flowers,  emblems  wrought  in  beads,  all  in  profusion  and 
arranged  with  native  taste.  All  this,  with  the  intonation 
of  the  priests,  the  chanting  of  the  choir,  and  the  blaring 
of  three  bands,  made  a weird  and  impressive  scene  never 


146  AN  OHIO  WOMAN  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

to  be  forgotten.  After  the  ceremony,  which  lasted  about 
an  hour,  the  body  was  taken  to  the  cemetery,  and,  as  it 
was  by  this  time  quite  dark,  each  person  in  the  proces- 
sion carried  a torch  or  candle.  I noticed  quite  a number 
of  Chinese  among  the  following,  evidently  friends,  and 
these  were  arrayed  in  as  gorgeous  apparel  as  the  natives. 
The  remains  having  been  disposed  of,  there  was  a grand 
reception  given  in  the  evening  in  honor  of  the  deceased. 

It  is  customary  to  have  a dance  every  Sunday  even- 
ing, and  each  woman  has  a chair  in  which  she  sits  while 
not  dancing.  The  priests  not  only  attend,  but  partici- 
pate most  heartily. 

I was  told  that  among  the  papers  captured  in  Manila 
was  a document  which  proved  to  be  the  last  bull  issued 
by  the  Pope  to  the  King  of  Spain  (1895  or  96).  This 
was  an  agreement  between  the  Pope  and  the  King, 
whereby  the  former  conveys  to  the  latter  the  right  to 
authorize  the  sale  of  indulgences.  The  King,  in  turn, 
sold  this  right  to  the  padres  and  friars  in  the  islands. 
Absolution  from  a lie  cost  the  sinner  six  pesos,  or  three 
dollars  in  gold  ; other  sins  in  proportion  to  their  enormity 
and  the  financial  ability  of  the  offender.  The  annual  in- 
come of  the  King  of  Spain  from  this  system  has  been 
estimated  at  the  modest  figure  of  ten  millions. 

The  discovery  of  this  and  other  documents  is  due  to  a 
party  of  interpreters  who  became  greatly  fascinated  by 
the  unearthing  process.  In  the  same  church  in  which 
these  were  found,  the  men  investigated  the  gambling 
tables  and  found  them  controlled  and  manipulated  from 
the  room  below  by  means  of  traps,  tubes,  and  other 


FILIPINO  DOMESTIC  LIFE 


147 


appliances.  An  interesting  fact  in  this  connection  is  that 
one  of  the  interpreters  was  himself  a Romanist,  and  loath  to 
believe  his  eyes,  but  the  evidence  was  convincing,  and  he 
was  forced  to  admit  it.  Gambling  is  a national  custom, 
deeply  rooted. 

I shall  never  forget  the  joy  I experienced  when  we 
got  two  milch  cows.  What  visions  of  milk,  cream,  and 
butter, — fresh  butter,  not  canned;  then,  too,  to  see  the 
natives  milk  was  truly  a diversion  ; they  went  at  it  from 
the  wrong  side,  stood  at  as  great  a distance  as  the  length 
of  arms  permitted,  and  in  a few  seconds  were  through, 
having  obtained  for  their  trouble  about  a pint  of  milk 
— an  excellent  milk-man’s  fluid  — a blue  and  chalky 
mixture. 

One  day  I heard  what  seemed  to  be  a cry  of  distress, 
half  human  in  entreaty,  and  I rushed  to  see  what  could 
be  the  matter.  There,  on  its  back,  was  a goat  being 
milked  ; there  were  four  boys,  each  holding  a leg,  while 
the  fifth  one  milked  upward  into  a cocoanut  shell.  It 
was  a ludicrous  sight. 

One  of  their  dainties  is  cooked  grasshoppers,  which  are 
sold  by  the  bushel  in  the  markets.  I cannot  recommend 
this  dish,  for  I never  was  able  to  summon  sufficient 
courage  to  test  it,  but  I should  think  it  would  be  as  de- 
lectable as  the  myriad  little  dried  fish  which  are  eaten 
with  garlic  as  a garnish  and  flavor. 

The  poor  little  horses  are  half  starved  and  otherwise 
maltreated  by  the  natives,  who  haven’t  the  least  idea  of 
how  to  manage  them.  They  beat  them  to  make  them 
go,  then  pull  up  sharply  on  the  reins  which  whirls  them 


148  AN  OHIO  WOMAN  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

round  and  round  or  plunges  them  right  and  left,  often 
into  the  ditches  beside  the  road.  It  was  no  uncommon 
sight  to  see  officers  or  men  getting  out  of  their  quielas  to 
push  and  pull  to  get  the  animal  started,  only  to  have  the 
driver  whip  and  jerk  as  before. 

Some  of  the  natives  bought  the  American  horses  and 
it  was  painful  to  see  them  try  to  make  our  noble  steeds 
submit  to  methods  a la  Filipino. 

Beggars  by  the  thousand  were  everywhere,  blind, 
lame,  and  deformed  ; homeless,  they  wandered  from  town 
to  town  to  beg,  especially  on  market  days.  One  blind 
woman,  who  lived  on  the  road  from  Iloilo  to  Jaro,  had 
collected  seventy-five  ‘ ‘ mex,”  only  to  have  it  stolen  by  her 
sister.  Complaint  was  made  to  the  military  commander, 
but  it  was  found  that  the  money  had  been  spent  and  that 
there  was  no  redress  to  be  had.  She  must  continue  to 
beg  while  her  sister  lived  hard  by  in  the  new  ‘ ‘ shack  ’ ’ 
which  she  had  built  with  the  stolen  “ denaro  ” (money). 

About  three  miles  from  Jaro  was  quite  a leper  colony, 
shunned,  of  course,  by  the  natives.  During  confes- 
sion, the  lepers  kneeled  several  rods  away  from  the 
priests.  I saw  one  poor  woman  whose  feet  were  entirely 
gone  lashed  to  a board  so  she  could  drag  herself  along  by 
the  aid  of  her  hands,  which  had  not  yet  begun  to  decay. 

There  were  no  visible  means  of  caring  for  the  sick  and 
afflicted  ; the  insane  were  kept  in  stocks  or  chained  to 
trees,  and  the  U.  S.  hospitals  were  so  overtaxed  by  the 
demands  made  upon  them  by  our  own  soldiers  that  little 
space  or  attention  could  be  spared  to  the  natives.  Charity 
begins  at  home. 


10 


FILIPINO  DOMESTIC  LIFE 


149 


God  bless  the  dear  women  who  nursed  our  sick  soldiers  ; 
it  was  my  pleasure  to  know  quite  intimately  several 
of  these  girls  who  have  made  many  a poor  boy  more  com- 
fortable. I am  proud,  too,  of  our  U.  S.  Army  ; of  course 
not  all  of  the  men  were  of  the  Sunday  School  order,  but 
under  such  great  discomforts,  in  such  deadly  perils,  and 
among  such  treacherous  people,  nothing  more  can  be  ex- 
pected of  mortal  men  than  they  rendered.  Many  poor 
boys  trusted  these  natives  to  their  sorrow.  They  accepted 
hospitality  and  their  death  was  planned  right  before  their 
eyes,  they,  of  course,  not  understanding  the  language 
sufficiently  to  comprehend  what  was  intended.  They 
paid  the  penalty  of  their  trust  with  their  lives. 

On  Decoration  Day  we  were  able  to  make  beautiful 
wreaths  and  crosses.  Our  soldiers  marched  to  the  ceme- 
teries and  placed  the  flowers  on  the  graves  of  the  brave 
boys  who  had  given  their  lives  in  defence  of  the  flag.  I 
had  the  pleasure  of  representing  the  mothers,  whose 
spiritual  presence  was,  I felt  sure,  with  those  far-away 
loved  ones.  An  officer  has  written  me  that  Memorial 
Day  was  again  observed  this  year,  and  I am  sure  it  was 
done  fittingly. 

A Protestant  mission  was  established  at  Jaro,  in  a 
bamboo  chapel,  pure  bamboo  throughout,  roof,  walls, 
windows,  seats,  floor.  The  seats,  however,  were  seldom 
used,  for  the  natives  prefer  to  squat  on  the  floor.  The 
congregation  consisted  of  men,  women,  and  children, 
many  of  whom  came  on  foot  from  a distance  of  twenty  or 
more  miles,  the  older  people  scantily  clad,  and  the  chil- 
dren entirely  naked  ; a more  attentive  audience  would  be 


15O  AN  OHIO  WOMAN  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

hard  to  find,  as  all  were  eager  to  get  the  “cheap  re- 
ligion.” None  of  the  inhabitants  of  Jaro  attend,  as  yet  ; 
they  fear  to  do  so,  since  they  are  under  the  strict  surveil- 
lance of  the  padre,  and  are  in  the  shadow  of  the  seminary 
for  priests,  the  educational  center  of  the  island  of  Panay. 

The  Protestant  minister  is  a graduate  of  this  institu- 
tion and  is  subject  to  all  imaginable  abuses  and  insults. 
Under  his  teachings,  a great  many  have  been  baptized, 
who  seemed  devoutly  in  earnest ; it  is  inspiring  to  hear 
them  sing  with  great  zeal  the  familiar  hymns,  “ Rock  of 
Ages,”  “ Safe  in  the  Arms  of  Jesus,”  etc.  One  incident 
will  suffice  to  illustrate  the  intense  and  determined  oppo- 
sition to  Protestantism.  One  of  the  native  teachers  was 
warned  not  to  return  to  his  home,  but,  in  defiance  of  all 
threats,  he  did  so,  and  was  murdered  before  the  eyes  of 
his  family.  I shall  expect  to  hear  that  many  other  mis- 
sionaries have  been  disposed  of  in  a similar  manner,  after 
the  withdrawal  of  the  American  troops. 

Many  ask  my  opinion  as  to  the  value  of  these  posses- 
sions ; to  me  they  seem  rich  beyond  all  estimate.  A 
friend  whom  I met  there,  a man  who  has  seen  practically 
the  whole  world,  said  that,  for  climate  and  possibilities, 
he  knew  of  no  country  to  compare  with  the  Philippines. 

The  young  generation  is  greedy  for  knowledge  and 
anxious  to  progress,  though  the  older  people  do  not  take 
kindly  to  innovations,  but  cling  to  their  old  superstitions 
and  cruelties.  God  grant  the  better  day  may  come  soon. 

There  was  quite  an  ambition  among  the  natives  to  be 
musical ; they  picked  up  quickly,  “ by  ear,”  some  of  the 
catchy  things  our  band  played.  When  I heard  them 


FILIPINO  domestic  life  15 1 

playing  “A  Hot  Time  in  the  Old  Town  To-night,”  on  their 
way  to  the  cemetery,  I could  not  restrain  my  laughter, 
and  if  the  deceased  were  of  the  order  of  Katapunan  the 
prophecy  was  fulfilled.  Officers  informed  me  that  this 
society  was  probably  the  worst  one  ever  organized,  more 
deadly  than  anarchists  ever  were.  It  was  originated  by 
the  Masons,  but  the  priests  acquired  control  of  it  and 
made  it  a menace  to  law  and  order.  I should  not  have 
escaped  with  my  life  had  it  not  been  for  one  of  the  best 
friends  I have  ever  known,  a “mestizo,”  part  Spanish 
and  part  Filipino.  She  undoubtedly  saved  my  life  by 
declaring  that  before  anything  was  done  to  me  she  and 
her  husband  must  be  sacrificed.  “ Greater  love  hath  no 
man  than  this.”  They  were  influential  people  through- 
out the  islands,  and  nothing  occurred. 


ISLANDS  CEBU  AND  ROMBLOM. 


CHAPTER  TWENTY-FOUR. 


HE  various  islands  seemed  to  have  their  own 
peculiarities.  Cebu  is  famous  for  vast  quan- 
tities of  Manila  hemp  ; also  for  shell  spoons  ; 
these  are  beautiful,  of  various  sizes,  and 
colors,  according  to  the  shell  they  are  cut 
from.  They  are  especially  appropriate  in  serving  fish. 
The  abaka-cloth  of  this  island  is  the  finest  made,  and  its 
pearl  fisheries  are  valuable.  In  1901  a lively  insurrection 
was  going  on  in  Cebu.  The  banks  of  the  bay  were  lined 
with  refugees  who  had  come  from  the  inland  to  be  pro- 
tected from  their  enemies.  There  were  hundreds  of 
them,  but  not  a single  cooking  utensil  amongst  them. 
Some  would  go  up  to  the  market  place  and  buy  a penny’s 
worth  of  rice  skillfully  put  up  in  a woven  piece  of  bam- 
boo. And  lucky  for  them  if  they  had  the  penny.  The 
rest  spent  their  time  fishing. 

The  cathedral  of  Cebu,  built  of  stone,  is  especially 
fine.  It  has  for  its  Patron  Saint,  a babe,  Santa  Nina. 

The  story*  is  that  at  one  time  there  were  a great  many 
(152) 


FACADE  OF  CHURCH.  SANTA  NINA 
AT  CEBU,  P.  I. 


ISLANDS  CEBU  AND  ROMBLOM 


153 


babies  stricken  with  a malady  ; the  parents  vowed  if  the 
Holy  Mother  would  spare  their  children  they  would  build 
this  cathedral. 

One  of  the  largest  prisons  is  at  Cebu.  We  were  shown 
many  of  the  dungeons ; there  were  then  confined  within 
those  walls  many  very  bad  Insurrectos. 

As  we  were  eager  to  visit  one  of  the  large  estates,  we 
were  given  a heavy  guard  and  went  inland  about  two 
miles  from  the  port  ; it  was  certainly  a fine  plantation, 
much  better  kept  than  any  I had  ever  seen  before.  We 
were  apparently  cordially  received,  and  were  assured  if 
we  would  only  stay  wre  could  partake  of  some  of  the  fam- 
ily pig,  that  was  even  then  wandering  around  in  the  best 
room  in  the  house. 

The  floor  of  the  large  reception  room  was  polished  as 
perfectly  as  a piano  top  ; its  boards  were  at  least  eighteen 
inches  wide  and  sixteen  to  twenty  feet  long.  I asked 
several  persons  the  name  of  this  beautiful  place,  but  could 
not  find  out.  On  the  sideboard  were  quantities  of  fine 
china  and  silver  that  had  been  received  only  a few  days 
before  from  Spain,  there  was  a large  grand  piano,  and 
there  were  eight  or  ten  chairs  in  the  center  of  the  room 
forming  a hollow  square.  Here  we  were  seated  and  were 
offered  refreshments  of  wine,  cigars  and  “ dulce.”  While 
this  place  seemed  isolated  it  was  not  more  than  ten  min- 
utes before  we  had  a gathering  of  several  hundred  natives, 
indeed  our  visit  was  shortened  by  the  fear  that  we  might 
be  outnumbered  and  captured,  and  so  we  hastened  back 
to  quarters. 

While  all  the  islands  are  tropical  in  appearance,  Cebu 


154 


AN  OHIO  WOMAN  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 


is  pre-eminently  luxuriant.  We  were  sorry  not  to  stay 
longer  and  learn  more  of  its  people  and  its  industries. 

Romblom  is  considered  by  many  the  most  picturesque 
of  the  islands.  The  entrance  is  certainly  beautiful ; 
small  ships  can  come  up  to  the  dock.  The  town  itself  is 
on  the  banks  of  a wonderful  stream  of  water  that  has  been 
brought  down  from  the  hills  above.  There  is  a finely 
constructed  aqueduct  that  must  have  cost  the  Spaniards 
a great  deal  of  money,  even  with  cheap  labor.  It  is  cer- 
tainly a very  delightfully  situated  little  town.  This 
place  is  famous  for  its  mats  ; they  are  woven  of  every 
conceivable  color  and  texture,  and  are  of  all  sizes,  from 
those  for  a child’s  bed  to  those  for  the  side  of  a house. 
The  edges  of  some  mats  are  woven  to  look  like  lace,  and 
some  like  embroidery.  They  range  in  price  from  fifty 
cents  to  fifty  dollars.  Every  one  who  visits  Romblom  is 
sure  to  bring  away  a mat. 

On  every  island  much  corn  is  raised,  perhaps  for  ex- 
port ; certainly  the  staple  is  rice.  Quite  a number  of 
young  men  who  were  officers  in  our  volunteer  regi- 
ments, have  located  on  the  island  of  Guimeras,  and  I 
have  no  doubt  that,  with  their  New  England  thrift,  they 
will  be  able  to  secure  magnificent  crops.  The  soil  is 
amazingly  rich  ; under  skilled  care  it  will  produce  a hun- 
dred fold.  Many  of  the  islands  are  so  near  to  one 
another  that  it  is  an  easy  matter  to  pass  from  island  to 
island. 


TYPICAL  NATIVE  HOUSE.  COSTS  ABOUT  ONE  DOLLAR. 


CARIBOU  CART. 


literature. 


CHAPTER  TWENTY-FIVE. 


N UO  house  of  any  town,  on  any  island,  nor 
in  the  very  best  houses  of  the  so-called  very 
best  families,  did  I ever  see  any  books, 
newspapers,  magazines,  periodicals  of  any 
kind  whatever.  One  woman  triumphantly 
took  out  of  a box  a book,  nicely  folded  up  in  wax  paper, 
a history  of  the  United  States,  printed  in  1840.  In  a 
lower  room  of  a large  house,  once  a convent,  but  now  oc- 
cupied by  two  or  three  priests,  there  were  perhaps  four 
or  five  hundred  books  written  in  Spanish  and  Latin  on 
church  matters.  One  reason  for  the  dearth  of  books  is 
the  difficulty  of  protecting  them  from  the  ravages  of  the 
ants.  We  found  to  our  horror  that  our  books  were  de- 
voured by  them.  And  then  the  times  were  troublous 
and  things  were  out  of  joint.  In  the  large  seminary  at 
Molo,  where  hundreds  of  girls  are  taught  every  year,  I 
did  not  see  a single  book  of  any  kind  or  any  printed  mat- 
ter, except  a few  pamphlets  concerning  the  Roman 
church.  The  girls  work  on  embroideries,  and  surely  for 

(155) 


156  AN  OHIO  WOMAN  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

fineness  they  surpass  all  others.  They  do  the  most  cob- 
web-like drawn  work,  and  on  this  are  wrought  roses, 
lilies,  and  butterflies  with  outspread  wings  that  look  as  if 
they  had  just  lighted  down  to  sip  the  nectar  from  the 
blossoms ; these  very  fine  embroideries  are  done  on  the 
pina  cloth.  It  is  no  wonder  that  the  people  would  get 
even  the  advertisements  on  our  canned  goods  and  ask  any 
American  whom  they  met  what  the  letters  were  and 
what  the  words  meant.  Our  empty  cans  with  tomato, 
pear,  peach  labels  were  to  them  precious  things.  Wliere- 
ever  our  soldiers  were,  the  adults  and  the  children 
crowded  around  them  and  impromptu  classes  were  formed 
to  spell  out  all  the  American  words  they  could  find  ; even 
the  newspaper  wrappers  and  the  letter  envelopes,  that 
were  thrown  away,  were  carefully  picked  up  so  as  to 
glean  the  meaning  of  these  ‘ ‘ Americano  ’ ’ words.  There 
was  near  our  quarters  a very  large  building  that  was  used 
for  the  education  of  boys  ; one  can  form  some  idea  of  the 
size  of  this  building  when  two  or  three  regiments  were 
encamped  there  with  all  their  equipments. 

There  may  have  been  books  here,  once,  but  noth- 
ing was  left  when  our  troops  occupied  it  except  a 
few  pictures  on  the  walls,  a few  tables  and  desks,  a few 
chairs  and  sleeping  mats. 

There  was  a little  story  in  connection  with  the  bell 
tower  on  one  side  of  the  plaza  in  Jaro;  this  tower  was 
about  eighty  feet  high,  had  a roof  and  niches  for  seven 
or  eight  good  sounding  bells.  From  the  top  of  this  tower 
one  could  see  many  miles  in  every  direction  ; when  the 
Philippine  army  fled  from  the  town  they  immediately 


literature 


157 


thought  our  soldiers  might  ascend  the  tower  and  watch 
their  course,  so  they  burned  the  staircases.  Alas  for  the 
little  children  who  had  taken  refuge  in  the  tower!  As 
the  flames  swept  up  the  stairways,  they  fled  before  them  ; 
two  of  them  actually  clung  to  the  clapper  of  one  great 
bell,  and  there  they  hung  until  its  frame  was  burned 
away  and  the  poor  little  things  fell  with  the  falling  bell. 
Their  remains  were  found  later  by  our  soldiers,  the  small 
hands  still  faithful  to  their  hold.  The  bells  were  in  time 
replaced  and  doubtless  still  chime  out  the  hours  of  the 
day.  It  is  the  duty  of  one  man  to  attend  to  the  bells  ; 
the  greater  the  festival  day  the  oftener  and  longer  they 
ring.  When  they  rang  a special  peal  for  some  special 
service,  I tried  to  attend.  One  day  there  was  an  unusual 
amount  of  commotion  and  clanging,  so  I determined  to 
go  over  to  the  service.  Hundreds  of  natives  had  gathered 
together.  To  my  surprise,  six  natives  came  in  bearing 
on  their  shoulders  a bamboo  pole  ; from  this  pole  a ham- 
mock was  suspended,  in  which  some  one  was  reclining ; 
but  over  the  entire  person,  hammock,  and  pole,  was 
thrown  a thick  bamboo  net,  entirely  concealing  all  with- 
in ; it  was  taken  up  to  the  chancel  and  whoever  was  in 
that  hammock  was  given  the  sacrament.  He  was,  no 
doubt,  some  eminent  civilian  or  officer,  for  the  vast  con- 
gregation rose  to  their  feet  when  the  procession  came  in 
and  when  it  passed  out.  I asked  two  or  three  of  the 
Filipino  women,  whom  I knew  well,  who  it  was,  but 
they  professed  not  to  know.  They  always  treated  me 
with  respect  when  I attended  any  of  their  sendees  and 
placed  a chair  for  me.  I noticed  how  few  carried  books 


158  AN  OHIO  WOMAN  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

to  church.  I do  not  believe  I ever  saw  a dozen  books  in 
the  hands  of  worshipers  in  any  of  the  cathedrals,  and  I 
visited  a great  many,  five  on  Palm  Sunday,  1900.  I 
know  from  the  children  themselves,  and  from  their  teach- 
ers, that  there  are  complaints  about  the  size  of  the  books 
and  about  the  number  which  they  have  to  get  their  les- 
sons from  in  the  new  schools. 

There  are  three  American  newspapers  in  Manila,  and 
one  American  library.  The  grand  success  of  the  library 
more  than  repays  all  the  cost  and  trouble  of  establishing 
it.  One  must  experience  it  to  know  the  joy  of  getting 
letters,  magazines,  papers,  and  books  that  come  once  or 
twice  a month,  only.  It  really  seemed  when  the  precious 
mail  bags  were  opened  that  their  treasures  were  too 
sacred  to  be  even  handled.  We  were  so  hungry  and 
thirsty  for  news  from  home,  for  reading  matter  in  this 
bookless  country,  where  even  a primer  would  have  been 
a prize. 

I alternated  between  passive  submission  to  island  lazi- 
ness, shiftlessness,  slovenliness,  dirt,  and  active  assertion 
of  Ohio  vim.  Sick  of  vermin  and  slime,  I would  take 
pail,  scrubbing  brush  and  lye,  and  fall  to  ; sick  of  it  all, 
I would  get  a Summit  county  breakfast,  old  fashioned 
pan  cakes  for  old  times’  sake ; sick  of  the  native  laund- 
ress who  cleansed  nothing,  I would  give  an  Akron  rub 
myself  to  my  own  clothes  and  have  something  fit  to  wear. 
These  attacks  of  energy  depended  somewhat  on  the  tem- 
perature, somewhat  on  exhausted  patience,  somewhat  on 
homesickness,  but  most  on  dread  of  revolt  and  attack  ; or 
of  sickening  news  — not  of  battle,  but  of  assassination 


ILOILO  25th.  NOVEMBER  1899. 


EXTRA. 

Reuter’s  Telegrams. 

THE  TRANSVAAL  WAR. 

LONDON  25th.  Novr. — The  British  losses  at  Belmont  are 
stated  at  48  killed,  140  wounded,  and  21  missing'.  The  losses 
include  tour  Officers  killed  and  21  wounded  and  are  chiefly 
Guardsmen. 

.00  Boers  were  taken  prisoner,  including  the  German  comman- 
dant and  six  Field  Cornets. 

The  British  Infantry  are  said  to  have  behaved  splendidly  and 
were  admirably  suported  by  the  Artillery  and  the  Naval  Bri- 
gade, carrying  three  Ridges  successively.  The  Victory  is  a most 
complete  one.  It  is  stated  that  the  enemy  fought  with  the  grea- 
test courage  and  skill. 


THIS  EXTRA  WAS  ISSUED  DAILY  — EIGHTY-FOUR 
MEXICAN  DOLLARS  PER  YEAR. 


literature 


159 


and  mutilation.  Whether  I worked  or  rested,  I was 
careful  to  sit  or  stand  close  to  a wall  — to  guard  against 
a stab  in  the  back.  I smile  now,  not  gaily,  at  the  pic- 
ture of  myself  over  a washtub,  a small  dagger  in  my 
belt,  a revolver  on  a stool  within  easy  reach  of  my  stead)', 
right  hand,  rubbing  briskly  while  the  tears  of  homesick- 
ness rolled  down  in  uncontrollable  floods,  but  singing, 
nevertheless,  with  might  and  main  : — 

“ Am  I a soldier  of  the  Cross, 

A follower  of  the  Lamb  ? 

And  shall  I fear  to  own  His  cause, 

Or  blush  to  speak  His  name? 

“Must  I be  carried  to  the  skies 
On  flowery  beds  of  ease, 

While  others  fought  to  win  the  prize, 

And  sailed  through  bloody  seas?  ’’ 

Singing  as  triumphantly  as  possible  to  the  last  verse 
and  word  of  that  ringing  hymn.  My  door  and  windows 
were  set  thick  with  wondering  faces  and  staring  eyes,  a 
Senora  washing.  These  Americans  were  past  under- 
standing! And  that  revolver  — they  shivered  as  they 
looked  at  it,  and  not  one  doubted  that  it  would  be  vigor- 
ously used  if  needed.  And  I looked  at  them,  saying  to 
myself,  as  I often  did,  “You  poor  miserable  creatures, 
utterly  neglected,  utterly  ignorant  and  degraded.” 

No  wonder  that  the  diseased,  the  deformed,  the  blind, 
the  one-toed,  the  twelve-toed,  and  monstrous  parts  and 
organs  are  the  rule  rather  than  the  exception.  These 
things  are  true  of  nine-tenths  of  this  people. 


THE  GORDON  SCOUTS. 


CHAPTER  TWENTY-SIX. 

HE  Gordon  Scouts  were  a detachment  make 
up  of  volunteers  from  the  Eighteenth  U.  S. 
Infantry.  They  were  under  direct  com- 
mand of  Captain  \V.  A.  Gordon  and  Lieu- 
tenant A.  L.  Conger.  The  captain  lost 
health  and  was  sent  home  ; thus  the  troop  was,  for  about 
a year,  under  the  command  of  Lieutenant  Conger.  It 
would  not  be  proper  for  me  to  tell  of  the  wonderful  expe- 
ditions and  the  heroic  deeds  of  the  Gordon  Scouts.  No 
one  was  more  generous  in  praise  of  them  than  General 
Del  Gardo,  now  governor  of  the  Island  of  Panay.  He 
told  me  often  of  his  great  esteem  for  my  son  and  of  the 
generous  way  in  which  he  treated  his  prisoners  and  cap- 
tives. Surely  men  were  never  kinder  to  a woman  than 
these  scouts  were  to  me  ; they  most  affectionately  called 
me  Mother  Conger  and  treated  me  always  with  the  great- 
est respect  and  kindness.  I hope  some  day  the  history 
of  this  brave  band  of  men  will  be  written,  with  its  more 
than  romantic  campaigns  and  wonderful  exploits, marches, 

dangers,  and  miraculous  escapes.  Few  men  were  wounded 
(160) 


COLLIER. 


CRAIG. 


THE  GORDON  SCOUTS 


161 


or  disabled,  notwithstanding  all  the  tedious  marches  in 
most  impenetrable  swamps  and  mountains,  with  no  guide 
but  the  stars  by  night  and  the  sun  by  day,  and  no  maps 
or  trusted  men  to  guide  them.  I recall  the  bravery  of 
one  man  who  was  shot  through  the  abdomen,  and  when 
they  stopped  to  carry  him  away  he  said,  “Leave  me 
here ; I cannot  live,  and  you  may  all  be  captured  or 
killed.”  They  tenderly  placed  him  in  a blanket,  carried 
him  to  a place  of  safety,  and,  when  he  died,  they  brought 
him  back  to  Jaro  and  buried  him  with  military  honors. 
He  was  the  only  man  killed  in  all  the  months  of  their 
arduous  tasks. 

If  I have  any  courage  I owe  it  to  my  grandmother. 
I will  perhaps  be  pardoned  if  I say  that  all  my  girlhood 
life  was  spent  with  my  Grandmother  Bronson,  a very  small 
women,  weighing  less  than  ninety  pounds,  small  featured, 
always  quaintly  dressed  in  the  old-fashioned  Levantine  silk 
with  two  breadths  only  in  the  skirt,  a crossed  silk  hand- 
kerchief with  a small  white  one  folded  neatly  across  her 
breast,  a black  silk  apron,  dainty  cap  made  of  sheer  linen 
lawn  with  full  ruffles.  She  it  was  who  entered  into  all  my 
child  life  and  who  used  to  tell  me  of  her  early  pioneer 
days,  and  of  her  wonderful  experiences  with  the  Indians. 
In  the  War  of  1812,  fearing  for  his  little  family,  my 
grandfather  started  her  back  to  Connecticut  on  horse 
back  with  her  four  little  children,  the  youngest,  my 
father,  only  six  months  old.  The  two  older  children 
walked  part  of  the  way  ; whoever  rode  had  to  carry  the 
baby  and  the  next  smallest  child  rode  on  a pillion  that 
was  tied  to  the  saddle.  In  this  way  she  accomplished 


162 


AN  OHIO  WOMAN  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 


the  long  journey  from  Cleveland,  Ohio,  to  Connecticut. 
When  she  used  to  tell  me  of  the  wonderful  things  that 
happened  on  this  tedious  journey,  that  took  weeks  and 
weeks  to  accomplish,  I used  to  wonder  if  I should  ever 
take  so  long  a trip.  I take  pleasure  in  presenting  the 
dearly  loved  grandmother  of  eighty-one  and  the  little 
girl  of  ten. 

While  my  dear  little  grandmother  dreaded  the  In- 
dians, I did  the  treacherous  Filipinos  ; while  she  dreaded 
the  wolves,  bears  and  wild  beasts,  I did  the  stab  of  the 
ever  ready  bolo  and  stealthy  natives,  and  the  prospect  of 
fire  ; she  endured  the  pangs  of  hunger,  so  did  I ; and  I 
now  feel  that  I am  worthy  to  be  her  descendant  and  to 
sit  by  her  side. 


EMILY  BRONSON. 


MARY  H1CKOX  BRONSON 


TRIALS  OF  GETTING  HOME. 


CHAPTER  TWENTY-SEVEN. 


HE  first  stages  of  my  return  home  were  from 
Iloilo  to  Manila,  and  thence  to  Nagasaki, 
the  chief  port  of  Japan.  Upon  leaving 
Iloilo  for  Manila,  my  son  accompanied  me 
as  far  as  Manila  ; he  heard  incidentally  that 
he  was  to  be  made  a staff  officer  ; as  I procured  quick 
transportation  as  far  as  Nagasaki,  I told  him  to  return 
to  his  duties  and  I would  get  along  some  way.  Upon 
reaching  Nagasaki,  the  difficulties  began.  I went  im- 
mediately to  the  various  offices  of  steamship  lines  and 
found  there  was  no  passage  of  any  grade  to  be  had. 
Many  were  fleeing  from  the  various  ports  to  get  away 
from  the  plague  and  all  steamers  were  crowded  because 
of  the  reduced  rates  to  the  Pan-American  Fair.  Think- 
ing I might  have  a better  chance  from  Yokohama,  I took 
passage  up  there  on  the  North  German  Lloyd  line.  I 
had  a splendid  state-room,  fine  service,  the  best  of  every- 
thing. I told  the  purser  I should  like  to  engage  that 

same  state-room  back  to  Liverpool ; he  replied  he  could 
» (163) 


164  AN  OHIO  WOMAN  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

not  take  me,  that  I would  not  live  to  get  there.  I as- 
sured him  that  I was  a good  sailor,  that  I was  very  much 
emaciated  with  my  long  stay  in  the  Philippines,  that  I 
would  soon  recover  with  his  good  food  and  the  sea  air  ; 
but  he  refused  to  take  me.  When  I reached  Yokohama, 
I immediately  began  to  see  if  I could  not  secure  sailing 
from  there  ; day  after  day  went  by,  it  was  the  old  story, 
everything  taken.  When  the  Gaelic  was  returning  I 
told  the  captain  that  I would  be  willing  to  take  even 
third  cabin  at  first  class  rates,  but  even  thus  there  were 
no  accommodations.  Within  an  hour  of  the  ship’s  sail- 
ing, word  was  brought  to  me  that  two  women  had  given 
up  their  cabin  and  that  I might  have  it ; it  was  two  miles 
out  to  the  ship,  with  no  sampan  — small  boat — of  any 
kind  to  get  my  baggage  out,  so  I tearfully  saw  this  ship 
sail  away.  I then  decided  to  return  to  Nagasaki  to  try 
again  from  that  port.  The  voyage  back  was  by  the  Em- 
press line  of  steamers  flying  between  Vancover  and  Yoko- 
hama. Upon  reaching  Nagasaki  again  I appealed  to  the 
quarter-master  to  secure  transportation  ; he  said  I could 
not  get  anything  at  all.  Officers  whom  I had  met  in  the 
Philippines  proposed  to  take  me  and  my  baggage  on 
board  without  the  necessary  red  tape,  in  fact  to  make  me 
a stow-away,  but  I refused.  I cabled  my  son  in  New 
York  to  see  if  I could  get  a favorable  order  from  Wash- 
ington. I cabled  Governor  Taft,  but  he  was  powerless  in 
the  great  pressure  of  our  returning  troops.  In  the  mean- 
time, I was  daily  growing  weaker  from  the  excitement 
and  worry  of  being  unable  to  do  anything  at  all.  The 
housekeeper  of  the  very  well-kept  Nagasaki  hotel  was 


TRIALS  OF  GETTING  HOME 


165 

especially  kind.  She  gave  me  very  good  attention  and 
even  the  Chinese  boy  who  took  care  of  my  room  and 
brought  my  meals  realized  the  desperate  condition  I was 
in.  One  day,  with  the  deepest  kind  of  solicitude  on  his 
otherwise  stolid  but  child-like  and  bland  face,  he  said 
“ Mrs.,  you  no  got  husband?” 

“No.” 

“You  no  got  all  same  boys.” 

“Yes,”  I have  three  nice  boys.” 

“ Why  no  then  you  three  boys  not  come  and  help 
poor  sick  mother  go  home  to  die?” 

Captain  John  E.  Weber,  of  the  Thirty-Eighth  Volun- 
teers returning  home  on  transport  Logan,  insisted  upon  my 
taking  his  state  room.  The  quarter-master,  who  had  re- 
fused me  so  many  times  before,  thought  that  he  could  not 
allow  it,  anything  so  out  of  the  “ general  routine  of  busi- 
ness;” but  Captain  Weber  said,  “ On  no  account  will  I 
leave  you  here,  after  all  your  faithful  service  in  the  Phil- 
ippines to  myself,  other  officers,  and  hundreds  of  boys. 
I had  one  of  the  best  state  rooms  on  the  upper  deck  and 
received  the  most  kindly  attentions  from  many  on  board  ; 
the  quarter-master  had  been  a personal  friend  of  my  hus- 
band in  other  and  happier  days.  On  the  homeward  way, 
the  ship  took  what  is  known  as  the  northern  course  ; she 
made  no  stop  between  Nagasaki  and  San  Francisco.  We 
went  far  enough  north  to  see  the  coast  of  Alaska.  We  saw 
many  whales  and  experienced  much  cold  weather.  In 
my  low  state  of  vitality  I suffered  from  the  cold,  but  not 
from  sea  sickness.  I did  not  miss  a single  meal  en  route 
during  the  twenty-four  sailing  days  of  the  ship.  They 


1 66  AN  OHIO  WOMAN  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 

were  days  of  great  pleasure.  We  had  social  games  and 
singing,  and  religious  services  on  Sunday.  There  were  a 
great  many  sick  soldiers  in  the  ship’s  hospital;  three  dying 
during  the  voyage.  On  reaching  San  Francisco  the  ship 
was  placed  in  quarantine  the  usual  number  of  days,  but 
there  was  no  added  delay  as  there  were  on  board  no  cases 
of  infectious  disease.  Mrs.  General  Funston  was  one  of  the 
passengers  and  was  greeted  most  cordially  by  the  friends 
and  neighbors  of  this,  her  native  state.  Upon  my  declaring 
to  the  custom  house  officers  that  I had  been  two  years  in 
the  Philippines  and  had  nothing  for  sale  they  immediately 
passed  my  baggage  without  any  trouble.  My  son  in 
New  York,  to  whom  I had  cabled  from  Nagasaki,  had 
never  received  my  message,  so  there  was  no  one  to  meet 
me,  but  I was  so  thankful  to  be  in  dear,  blessed  America 
that  it  was  joy  enough.  No,  not  enough  until  I reached 
my  own  beloved  home.  Had  it  been  possible  I would 
have  kissed  every  blade  of  grass  on  its  grounds,  and 
every  leaf  on  its  trees. 

I am  not  ashamed  to  say  that  July  ioth,  the  day  of 
my  home  coming,  I knelt  down  and  kissed  with  unspeak- 
able gratitude  and  love  its  dear  earth  and  once  more 
thanked  God  that  His  hand  had  led  me  — led  me  home. 


“ Adious.” 


ADIOUS. 


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